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SUPREME COUNCIL,33° 


Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. 
Washington, D.C. 


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The Phantom City 







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The Phantom City 


a IDolcantc IRomaitce. 


WILLIAM WESTALL, 

\X — 

AUTHOR OF “RALPH NORBRECK’s TRUST," “ RED RYVINGTON, 
“TWO PINCHES OF SNUFP,” BTC. 


CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited 

739 & 741 Broadway, N. Y. 



Exchange 

™«'xrs.?sz* 



3Fo 

FREDERICK HENRY FAYIELL, 

IN TOKEN OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP AND OF THE 

• . — * ' 

author’s ESTEEM, 

®f)fs ISoofc ts (nscrflbefc. 





CONTENTS 




PAGE 

I. — Senob, Don Domingo 1 

II. — A Strange Story 10 

III. — Gone l 24 

IY. — Dominick’s Proposal . . 34 

Y. — The Mysterious Peninsula . .... 46 

VI. — Cornered by a Cayman 63 

VII. — The First Arrow 60 

VIII. — My New Recruits ....... 71 

IX. — Oyer the Mountains 81 

X. — Lost I 91 

XI. — Alone • . 103 

XII. — In the Rapids . • • • « • • .114 

XHL— Back Again 126 

XIV. — A New Departure ••••••• 133 


XV. — Through the Air 


144 


. ' I _ - \ - , 

Vlii CONTENTS. , 

PAGE 

XYI. — Phantomland at Last 158 

XVII. — Ixtil: Lord of Light 169 

XVIII. — The Maiden Tribute . . „ . . .179 

XIX. — The Cacique’s Promise 187 

XX. — A Shook for Cochitemi 195 

XXI. — I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM 206 

XXII. — I am Forewarned, but not Forearmed . .218 

XXIII. — The Lost are Found 225 

XXIV. — The Sacrifice ....... 238 

XXV. — WlLDFELL WANTS TO GO 252 

XXVI. — Suma’s Danger and Ixtil’s Oath . . . 259 

XXVTI. — The Plot Thickens 262 

XXVIII. — Ixtil’s Scheme and Cochitemi’s Fall . . 277 


XXIX. — The Silent River and the Secret Passage 


286 


The Phantom city. 

l$?otcanic Romance. 


CHAPTER I. 

SENOR DON DOMINGO. 

On a certain very warm day in November, 186-, the 
Royal Mail steamer, Guadalquivir , whose surgeon I 
happened at the time to be, was lying off St. Peter's 
Island (of the Virgin group). We had arrived a few 
hours previously from England, and most of our cargo, 
and the majority of our passengers, had already been 
transferred to the smaller steamers bound for the Gulf, 
the Windward and Leeward Islands, the Spanish Main, 
and elsewhere. 

A surgeon's life in these latitudes is generally rather 
an idle one — except when Yellow Jack pays you a visit, 
and then the chances are that if you escape him you 
die of overwork and anxiety — and, having nothing par- 
ticular to do, I was sauntering about the quarter-deck, 
smoking a fragrant Havana, and talking with the mail 
agent and some of the passengers who were going to 
Jamaica, the Guadalquivir's ultimate destination, when 


2 


THE PHANTOM CITT. 


Herbert, the second officer, came aft, touched me on the 
shoulder, and drew me aside. 

“ You are wanted on board the Tobasco, Carlyon,” he 
said. 

“ What for ? ” 

“ To see a sick passenger.” 

“ A sick passenger ! Nothing serious, I hope — not 
” I said, with a look which he well understood. 

a No, not Yellow Jack this time, thank God. We 
had enough of that on the last homeward trip. Nothing 
very particular, I fancy ; only Handsome Tommy would 
like you to see the man — a Spaniard of some conse- 
quence, I believe — before he weighs anchor.” 

“ I will go at once, then.” 

“ Oh, there is no hurry. The Tobasco will not be 
ready to weigh for an hour or more. There is a boat 
alongside there — on the starboard quarter.” 

After finishing my cigar, and hearing the con- 
clusion of the mail agent's story — he was a capital 
story-teller, poor fellow — I stepped into my cabin, put 
my instrument case into my pocket, and, waving my 
hand to my friends on the quarter-deck, got down into 
the boat. I little thought that I had seen them for 
the last time, and that I should never again set foot on 
the stately Guadalquivir . 

Handsome Tommy, otherwise Thomas Tobias, was 
the Tobasco’s skipper, a fine-looking fellow, with a 
tawny beard, immense vitality, and great bodily 
strength. 


SENOR DON DOMINGO. 


3 


I found him on deck, under a white umbrella, watch- 
ing the stowing of his cargo. 

“ Who and where is the sick man ? 99 I asked. 

“ Either a Spaniard or a Greaser (Mexican), I am 
not sure which. Anyhow, they call him Senor Don 
Domingo. It was so confoundedly close in his bunk 
that I made the steward sling him a hammock near the 
after coaling port, where you will find him. I really 
believe it is cooler there than on deck.” 

“That was very thoughtful of you, Tobias. You 
did quite right. Nothing like plenty of air for the 
sick, and the sound too, for that matter.” 

I was turning away to seek my patient, when the 
skipper observed, in the quiet way which was natural to 
him, that he thought there was likely to be a change of 
weather. 

“ And quite time, too,” I said, mopping the per- 
spiration from my face, “ it is almost too hot to breathe. 
But I see no signs of a change. The sky is clear, and 
the sea as calm as a mill-pond.” 

“ I think if you look hard towards the sou'-west 
there, you will see something (handing me his glass).” 

“ I see nothing but a small cloud, about the size of 
a man's hand,” I said, after looking for several minutes 
as hard as I could in the direction indicated. 

“ It will be bigger before it is less,” answered 
Tommy, quietly. “ The glass is beginning to fall, too. 
I wish I was out of this. If I don’t get away before 
dark I shall lie here until morning.” 

B 


4 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Here the first officer came to ask some question 
about the cargo,, and I went below to look after my 
patient, hoping that Handsome Tommy would be right 
in his forecast ; for even a gale of wind would be prefer- 
able to that stifling intolerable heat — and a good deal 
more wholesome. 

As I knew Spanish pretty well, I spoke to Senor 
Don Domingo in his own language. He was a meagre, 
middle-aged man, with a saffron-coloured, leathery 
skin, deep black eyes, a rather undershot lower lip, and 
heavy jaws. Albeit his temperament seemed in no 
way strumous, there were signs about his neck which 
showed that he had some time or other suffered either 
from scurvy or blood-poisoning. His present complaint, 
however, was apparently low fever, of a form common 
in the West Indies, and easily cured if taken in time. 
After feeling his pulse and testing his temperature, I 
sent the steward for the captain's medicine chest, gave 
Senor Domingo a cooling draught, and prepared him a 
mixture of which quinine was the principal ingredient. 

“ You are treating me for fever, Senor Doctor/'’ he 
said, after he had taken the draught. 

“ Certainly ! It is fever you are suffering from — 
fever and the terrible heat. But this draught and the 
medicine I shall ask you to take later on will, I hope, set 
you to rights. I admit, though, that a good rattling 
sea breeze would probably do you more good than 
either. I am sorry, both for your sake and my own, 
that I cannot command one.” 


SEN OR, DON DOI4INGO. 


5 


“ You are very kind. The fever is nothing ; it will 
readily yield to your skill, I am sure. But I have 
something here " (laying his left hand on the deltoid 
muscle of his right shoulder) — (i I have something here 
that neither sea breeze nor medicine can cure. It has 
troubled me two years, and I fear will trouble me as 
long as I live/' 

“ What is it?" 

“ An old wound." 

“ An old wound ! Old wounds are sometimes 
rather intractable, I know, but not always incurable. 
Would you mind letting me see it?" 

“ On the contrary, I should like you to see it very 
much," and Senor Domingo, without more ado, bared 
his shoulder. He was terribly thin, poor fellow. 

“ An old wound ! " I repeated. “ Why, it looks as 
if it were only a few days old." 

“ It is two years since I got it, though." 

I had never seen such a wound. It was not wide ; 
it did not seem to be deep, and it had evidently been 
produced by a sharp instrument. But the skin was as 
much discoloured as if it had been made by a burnt 
stick. There were marks of old abscesses, too, and a 
new one was forming close to the cicatrix, which bore 
every appearance of having only recently healed." 

“ It breaks out after healing, I suppose ? " 

“Continually; and those abscesses — I am hardly 
ever free from them. They make my life miserable, 
and sometimes reduce me to a state of great weakness. 


6 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


I have been to doctor after doctor, but none of them 
seem able to do me any good.” 

"Very strange,” I said, continuing to examine the 
wound, which presented some very peculiar symptoms 
in addition to those I have mentioned. “ How did you 
get this hurt, may I ask ? ” 

“ From a poisoned arrow.” 

“ A poisoned arrow ! That accounts for it all ; I 
never saw a wound from a poisoned arrow before. And 
two years ago, you say ? 33 I felt curious to know what 
my patient had been doing to get himself shot with 
such a missile. 

“ Yes, I got it two years ago, and the wonder is 
that I survived to tell the tale,” he answered, gloomily. 
“ But do you think you can cure me ? I fear it is 
almost past hoping for — still, you know, one does not 
like to abandon hope.” 

A difficult question to answer, my experience of the 
effects of poisoned arrows being decidedly limited ; and, 
judging from the appearance of the shoulder, I could 
not honestly say that there was much likelihood of a 
speedy cure. Under the continuous heat of the tropics, 
the cellular tissue, becoming relaxed, loses much of its 
contractile power, and the defective lymphatic circula- 
tion thence resulting makes the healing of wounds and 
bruises sometimes very difficult. The nervous system, 
moreover, gets singularly irritable ; the slightest hurts 
are often very painful, with a tendency to tetanus, 
which, when once it sets in. is absolutely beyond 


SENOR DON DOMINGO. 


7 


control. In the present instance, moreover, there were 
signs of blood-poisoning, and my prognosis of the case 
was far from favourable. But it is never wise to dis- 
hearten a patient, and I did all I could to encourage 
the unfortunate Spaniard. 

“Oh, you must not despair,” I said, cheerily. 
“ Nil desperandum , you know; and I do not regard 
your case as at all hopeless. The doctors you have con- 
sulted are Spanish doctors, I suppose ? ” 

“ Spanish and Creole.” 

“ The same thing. And I dare say they have given 
you a lot of physic ? ” 

“ Bucketsful ; I might almost say oceans. I have 
been doctoring for two years; and to tell the truth, 
Senor Doctor, I am on my way now to St. Jago de 
Cuba to consult a celebrated physician there, who is 
said to be able to cure anything.” 

“ No doctor can do that, Senor Don Domingo. The 
man who says he can is a charlatan ; and in my opinion, 
no amount of physic, no mere medical treatment, will 
do you good— rather harm, indeed. Yet, there is a 
way ” 

“ I thank Heaven and St. Dominic to hear you say 
so, Senor Doctor. Do me the favour to point out the 
way to health, and I will follow it. You English 
physicians are so surpassingly clever. The way, 
Senor Doctor, the way ! ” 

“ If you want to get better,” I answered, bowing in 
acknowledgment of the compliment : “ if you want to 


8 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


get better, you must leave this part of the world at 
once for a more temperate, climate. Go, if possible, to 
some Swiss or Tyrolese mountain resort, seven or eight 
thousand feet above sea-level, where the air is absolutely 
pure, and the rapid evaporation causes quick renewal of 
the tissues. Take, at the same time, a course of sulphur 
baths and hydropathic treatment, and in six months 
you will be another man.” 

“ You think that would cure me ? ” 

“Ido.” 

“ By the powers, Pll go then ! A thousand thanks 
for your advice, Doctor Carlyon. “ You have given me 
new hope,” exclaimed the Senor Don, in a decided Irish 
accent. 

To say that my breath was taken away would be an 
inadequate description of my feelings. If a mermaid 
had jumped through the port ; if a shark had walked 
down the after-hatchway; if Handsome Tommy had 
appeared before us and danced a hornpipe, I could 
hardly have been more surprised. 

“ Have I actually been lavishing my best Castilian 
all this time on a fellow-countryman ? *’ I asked, with 
some warmth ; for though I knew Spanish fairly, Eng- 
lish was a good deal easier. 

“I don't know about the fellow-countryman ; but I am 
Irish, if that is what you mean ? ” said Domingo, dryly. 

“ Fellow-subject, then, if you like that better. But 
as my mother was Irish, I cannot consider myself more 
than half English.” 


SENOR DON DOMINGO. 


9 


“ So much the better. Let us be friends, country- 
men, and lovers then. For your advice sounds sensible, 
and if the treatment you recommend restores me to 
health, you will have rendered me a great service. I 

suppose you are surprised at finding that I am ” 

“ Not a Senor Don? Rather/' 

“ You looked so. Would you like to know how I 
became a Senor Don, as you call it ? 99 

“ And came by that poisoned-arrow wound on your 
shoulder? Very much indeed.” 

“ Well, I will tell you. Light a cigar, sit down on 
that Southampton chair, and listen.” 


10 


CHAPTER II. 

A STRANGE STORY. 

“I am not going to tell you the story of my life in 
extenso ” — said Senor Domingo, settling himself in his 
hammock, “ it would take too much time, and you’ll 
he after going back to the Guadalquivir presently — 
only the main incidents. Well, as you know already, I 
was horn an Irishman, and my people, who, I must tell 
you, did not occupy a very exalted position in the world, 
albeit they were in tolerably easy circumstances, destined 
me, from an early age, for the priesthood. Domingo 
is merely the Hispaniolised version of my family name, 
Dominick. My name in religion was Father Polycarp. 
After getting my schooling, and spending two or three 
years at college, I went to Spain, and completed my 
clerical education at Salamanca. It was my own wish. 
I wanted to travel, and I wanted, above all, to see Spain, a 
country which had always possessed a great attraction for 
me — I think through reading “ Don Quixote ” and “ Gil 
Bias.” 

“ Some time after being ordained, I found favour 
with the archbishop, and was appointed to a very good 
post in the cathedral. But I was never content to re- 
main long in the same place, and when a chance was 


A STRANGE STORY. 


11 


offered me of going to Costa Rica, I embraced it eagerly. 
I was always after exploring foreign countries ; and if 
I had not gone into the Church, I dare say I might 
have become a great traveller.” 

‘ f We seem to have similar tastes,” I observed, “I 
am rather a rolling stone myself, knd like nothing so 
well as knocking about the world and seeing out-of-the- 
way places. That was my principal reason for becoming 
a surgeon. There are sick people everywhere, and a 
doctor, like a sailor, can travel and get his living at the 
same time, and he is so far superior to a sailor, that he 
can get along either afloat or ashore. I have done a 
pretty big mileage already. Besides several voyages 
acress the North and South Atlantic, I have gone with 
a ship-load of emigrants from London to New Zealand, 
and a cargo of coolies from Calcutta to Guiana. But 
I am interrupting you. Pray continue.” 

“ You are a fortunate man. I wish I had gone in for 
medicine, for to tell the truth — but I am anticipating. 

“Well, I went to Costa Rica, and after staying 
a while there, got myself transferred to Merida, in 
Yucatan. I liked Merida much. True, it is very hot ; 
yet it suffers neither from yellow fever, hurricanes, nor 
earthquakes, which, for a Central American city, is 
something wonderful. It is a quaint place, too, contains 
buildings actually 300 years old, and the people are 
interesting — many of them really charming — and my 
position brought me in contact with some of the best 
people in the state. But what interested me most were 


12 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the ruined cities of the wilderness. Within a hundred 
miles of Merida are the magnificent ruins of Mayapan — 
Ake, Kabah, Laban, and many more ; above all Uxmal, 
which is only sixty miles from Merida. I went there 
many times, and gazed with wonder, almost awe, on 
those superb relics of a lost civilisation, and was con- 
tinually asking myself and inquiring of others, whence 
had come and whither gone the mysterious people by 
whom it was created. Were they Toltecs, or Aztecs ? 

“ Nobody could tell me, and the books I consulted did 
not throw much light on the subject. But there was a 
legend in which, though the educated did not place much 
faith, the Mayan people (Indians of the locality) firmly 
believed. The legend runs, that in an unexplored part 
of the country — the vast region lying between Chiapas, 
Tobasco, Yucatan, and Guatemala, a region never trod 
by the white man’s foot — there is a great aboriginal 
city, with white walls, grand temples, and gorgeous 
buildings, in the same style of architecture as the ruins 
of Uxmal and Palenque, and inhabited by the same 
race as that which once held sway over the greater part 
of Central America, centuries before Columbus dis- 
covered the Western Continent. Several attempts were 
said to have been made to reach this hidden city, but all 
had failed. According to one account three young men 
actually got there, but, falling into the hands of the 
Indians, one was sacrificed on the high altar of the 
Temple of the Sun, and the other two were put to death 
with every refinement of cruelty. 


A STRANGE STORY. 


13 


“ This story, however, must needs be purely 
apocryphal. For, if all three were killed, who was 
there left to tell the tale ? The fact, I suppose, is, 
that three men once started on some such expedition, 
and never came back. Still another account had it that 
the Phantom City, as the Indians call it, had been seen, 
and not very long before, by the cura of a place in the 
South, from the top of a high mountain, that he had 
actually beheld its great walls, and mighty temples, 
glistening like silver in the sun, and reflected in the 
shining waters of the vast lake by which it is surrounded. 
Neither did I much believe this story, but I felt very 
curious to see that cura ” 

“ But why,” I asked, “ should there be any difficulty 
in testing the truth of this legend and these stories ? 
Guatemala and Yucatan are not extensive countries. 
They are not like Africa and Australia, and I never 
heal'd of there being any impassable deserts in Central 
America/’ 

“True, and Central America is a long way from 
being as big as Central Australia. But you forget 
that a tropical forest may be even more impassable 
than a waterless desert, and ranges of mountains, 
like those among which the mighty Usamacinta gathers 
its waters, are not quite as easily crossed as the 
Alps or the Pyrenees. But the merely physical diffi- 
culties might be overcome; the great trouble is that 
all this unexplored region is beset by Lacandones, 
Manches, and other tribes of fierce and unsubdued 


14 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Indians, whom, in order to reach the Phantom Island 
and City, you must either evade or subdue. I do not 
say that it is impossible to evade them, but nobody has 
done it yet ; while, as for subduing, it is enough to say 
that the Spanish conquistadores found it expedient to 
let them alone. It is the other way about, indeed. 
The Indians who were conquered in times past are fast 
regaining their savage independence. Even Merida, 
with its 50,000 inhabitants, is in mortal terror of them. 
In 1846 the Indians swept a great part of Yucatan with 
fire and sword. Valladolid and Tekax were abandoned, 
and thousands of square miles of territory, and hundreds 
of towns and villages, once occupied by a Creole popula- 
tion, mostly of Spanish blood, have reverted to their 
original owners. 

“ However, to resume my story. While I was pon- 
dering these things, making occasional visits to ruined 
cities, and forming rather aimless plans for more distant 
excursions, I heard of a project for establishing a new 
mission in the Verapaz country, and offered to take 
charge of it. My offer was accepted. Most of my 
friends thought me a great fool for exchanging the 
pleasures of Merida for the hard life of a missionary 
priest in a region remote from civilisation, inhabited, as 
they said, only by Indians, mosquitoes, and alligators. 
But it was exactly the place I wanted to go to — be- 
tween Cozabon and Coban, and on the borders of the 
country where was to be found, if anywhere, the abori- 
ginal city and the Phantom Island of the legend. So 


A. STRANGE STORY. 


15 


I went, and stayed there a pretty long time. I cannot 
say I liked it very much, however. True, my flock, 
consisting of tame Indians and half-breeds, and a few 
Creoles, were good and kind, and treated me with almost 
too much reverence and respect. But the dullness of 
the place was terrible, the climate detestable, and the 
insects were as trying as all the plagues of Egypt 
put together; for Puebla lies low down in the tierra 
caliente. Pride, and other considerations, however, 
forbade me to go back, and want of means and 
the impossibility of leaving my charge for long to- 
gether, prevented me from attempting to carry 
out my great object — the discovery of the Phantom 
City. Yet I made several excursions and picked up 
some useful information, and by a strange chance I met 
the cura who was said to have seen it from the top of 
a high mountain south of the Usamacinta. It turned 
out, however, that it was not himself that had seen it, 
but a Chiche Indian whom he had known. He said 
the man was thoroughly trustworthy, and quite be- 
lieved his story. It was that the Indian had once seen 
the city a long way off, and his account so far confirmed 
the legend that he declared the walls were white, and 
some of the buildings covered with plates of silver 
and gold. When asked why he did not enter the 
Phantom Country (the only name we had for it) he 
said that its inhabitants, the Children of Light, as 
they call themselves, are in alliance with certain of the 
Lacandones and Manches, who remorselessly put to death 


16 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


all strangers who approach their territory, and that he 
himself could not have gone a step further without the 
certainty of falling into their hands. As it was, he only 
escaped them by stealth, and got back with great diffi- 
culty. Another thing he said was, that the Children of 
Light are quite a different race of men from the wild 
tribes that haunt the forests and the mountains — which 
is very likely, I should say. 

“ I thought that, on the whole, this account might 
be true — perhaps because I wanted it to be. The 
trouble was that I could get no precise information, 
either as to the city or the mountain from which it had 
been seen. South of the Usamacinta might mean almost 
anywhere north of the eighteenth degree of south lati- 
tude, for the great river rises nobody knows where, and 
falls into the Gulf of Mexico at the Laguna de los Ter- 
minos. But the point was of less importance than it 
might have been, as at that time I saw no chance of my 
being able to engage in an enterprise of so much pith 
and moment as a search for the mysterious city. A 
little later, however, circumstances became more pro- 
pitious. An old friend at Merida, a Yucatanero, who 
had made money in the United States of the North, 
left me a legacy which, though perhaps small when 
judged by European ideas, was for me a small fortune. 
So I gave up the priesthood — for which, to tell the truth, 
I had never any real vocation — and resolved to make at 
least one attempt to penetrate to the unexplored regions 
of Verapaz. The first thing was to fix on a starting 


A STRANGE STORY. 


17 


point, which, after mature consideration, I decided should 
be a little to the westward of Santa Rosa; the next, 
to engage and organise a force of friendly Indians 
who would act both as escort, carriers, and guides : 
for I was about to adventure into a country where 
beasts of burden could not travel, where I was not sure 
of finding food, and where I might at any moment be 
attacked by the savage Lacandones, or the still more 
savage Manches. We should, therefore, have to carry 
our supplies on our backs and our lives in our 
hands. Carriage, however, presented no difficulty; the 
Indians of Central America being accustomed to trans- 
port heavy burdens great distances. About their 
staunchness, however, I was far from confident ; 
Christianised natives are terribly afraid of their wild 
kinsfolk ; and I did not feel at all sure that my men 
would not desert me when I most needed their help, the 
more especially as, being compelled by the custom of 
the country to pay them beforehand, I could have no 
security for their good behaviour. 

“ But all went well for a while. Certainly, there was 
no track, and, like ships at sea, we had to steer by com- 
pass; though, unlike ships, we could not go straight, and 
made very slow progress. We had to make so many de- 
tours, sometimes to avoid a swamp, sometimes to find a 
pass over a mountain, or a ford over a river, that, after a 
fortnight's hard work, we were not more than forty miles 
from our starting point, as the crow flies, though I sup- 
pose we had really travelled three times that distance, 
o 


18 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ My men were beginning to grumble — they for- 
got the pay, and thought only of the hard work — 
when, after a more than usually toilsome march, all 
against the collar, we reached an open, park-like 
country, which, judging from the extensive view it 
commanded, must be a high table-land ; but as I had, 
unfortunately, brought no barometer, I could not tell 
how high. Below us was a vast savanna, or valley, 
bounded by lofty white-crested mountains. Whether 
the whiteness denoted snow, or merely limestone or 
other light-coloured rocks, it was impossible, at that 
distance, to determine. I fancied, too, that I could 
make out a city, or the ruins of one. My men — who 
saw better with the naked eye than I did with my 
glass — declared that they could distinguish white walls 
and pyramids, which shone like gold. On the other 
hand, it did not answer to the description of the cura’s 
C-hiche ! There was no sign of water. The place we 
saw, or thought we saw, could not, therefore, be on an 
island. But the Chiche might be mistaken, or — another 
supposition — there might be a second hidden city, 
hitherto unheard-of, unknown even to tradition. Be 
that as it might, the idea that I was on the point of 
making a great find delighted and excited me beyond 
measure. Greatly to my surprise, however, my men 
seemed much discouraged — alarmed, even; and when 
I inquired the reason, said that we must now be in 
the very heart of the Choles country, at the best 
a dangerous enough position. If we were really 


A STRANGE STORY. 


19 


within sight of the Phantom City, the danger was 
greater still — nobody had ever succeeded in reaching 
it — and it was as much as our lives were worth to 
go another step further. They wanted to go hack, in 
fact. This put me in a rage. I reproached the men 
for their faithlessness, reminded them of th.eir engage- 
ments, and said that nothing should turn me from my 
purpose — that I should go on at all hazards. 

“ As for the Lacandones, and other savage tribes, I 
Rad begun to doubt their existence. We had not, so 
far, seen a single human being, or sign of any, except 
a wretched Tree Indian, two or three days before, who 
disappeared the moment he set eyes on us. 

“ My men — silenced, if not convinced — lighted a fire, 
and set about preparing our evening meal. After it 
was eaten, and we had smoked the pipe of peace, we 
lay down and disposed ourselves for sleep. I chose a 
place a little distance from the fire, near the trunk of 
a gigantic tree ; for my men, besides being loud snorers, 
were too high-smelling to make them desirable bed- 
fellows. 

“ I cannot tell how long I slept, but when I awoke 
the embers of the fire were still faintly glowing, and the 
tree*- tops were bathed in the soft light of a radiant 
moon. I raised myself on my elbow, and looked round. 
Was I dreaming ? I rubbed my eyes, and looked again. 

“ It was no illusion : my men were gone, taking 
everything with them, and I was left alone in that 
wilderness, to get back as I might, for going forward 
c 2 


20 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


was now out of the question. My heart sank within me, 
for how could I get back alone ? and I was about to 
spring to my feet and try to find out which way the 
wretches had gone, when I became conscious of shadowy 
forms moving among the trees on the opposite side of 
the glade. My first thought was that these were my 
own people, but a second look showed me that I was 
mistaken. My men numbered only a dozen, but yonder 
were two or three score, big fellows wearing plumed 
head-dresses, cloaks of skin, and armed with spears and 
bows. 

“ I am not ashamed to confess, Senor Doctor, 
being a man of peace, that the sight utterly overcame 
me. I remembered all I had heard of the horrible 
tortures these Indians of the wilds inflict on their 
prisoners. I was petrified with fear. For two or three 
minutes I hardly dared to breathe, and could not move 
a limb. The horrors of that moment, words cannot tell. 
And then my senses gradually returned, and I dragged 
myself away — crawled on my belly like a snake — in the 
hope that I might in that way escape unobserved. But 
I had not gone far when a yell that seemed to freeze my 
blood in my veins told me that I was seen. Bounding 
to my feet, I ran as I had never run before — ran for 
dear life, the fiends in full cry after me. Knowing that 
I had no chance of out-racing them, I made for a 
barranca — a deep and wide ravine, of a sort frequent in 
the country — which I had noticed as we climbed up the 
hill. 


A STRANGE STORY. 


21 


“ As I ran I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder ; hut 
the arrow, hurriedly shot, did not penetrate deeply into 
the flesh ; if it had done, I should not be here to tell 
the tale. I shook it off, and raced onward for the 
barranca . I could not look back, but I knew my pur- 
suers were close after me ; and when I reached the 
ravine I jumped, or rather dropped, slap into it. Better 
break my neck, I thought, than be roasted alive by 
those savages. 

“ I have no idea how far I fell, but after crawliug 
through a lot of bushes, which cut my flesh, and tore 
my clothes to rags, I brought to, stunned and breath- 
less, on a tree, or the branch of one. I could hear 
the savages shouting and exclaiming in the forest above. 
I knew very well, though, that they would not follow 
me, and as the barranca , besides being of considerable 
dei^th, was probably many miles in length, I did not 
think they were likely to outflank me. In all proba- 
bility, moreover, they would imagine I was killed out- 
right, and in that belief give all their attention to the 
finding of my fugitive convoy. And so it turned out ; 
at any rate, I saw no more of them. 

“ When daylight came, though precious little of it 
reached me, I surveyed my position as well as I could. 
It was not particularly encouraging. I sat in the 
branches of a tree that grew almost at right angles 
from the side of the barranca , neither the top nor the 
bottom of which was visible. I could not stay where 
I was, that was quite clear, and equally clear that I 


22 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


could not go up. There was, consequently, nothing* for 
it but to go down ; and down I went, slipping from one 
bush to another, sometimes falling a few feet, some- 
times holding on to a tree, until I reached terra firma, 
which proved to be the bed of a stream — in the rainy 
season, no doubt, a foaming torrent — but just then, 
save for a pool here and there, quite dry. I had 
no doubt about the direction I should take — it could 
only be downhill — and I felt sure that if I went on I 
should come out in the neighbourhood of some river or 
brook. 

“ It took me more than twenty-four hours to get 
out of that ravine, and all the time I did not once taste 
food. If it had not been for the pools I just spoke 
about, I think I must have died. I will not trouble 
you with all the details of that terrible journey, nor 
dwell on the intense satisfaction I experienced when at 
last I emerged into the light of day ; how I killed a 
monkey with a stick and ate him raw, how I gorged 
myself with wild bananas, and, following the bendings 
of a tiny river, fell in with a Christianised Indian, who 
conducted me to Santa Rosa. 

“ I told you that when we reached the glade where 
my Indians deserted me, I thought we were about forty 
miles from our starting point, in a straight line. I saw 
reason afterwards to modify that opinion. By the bar- 
ranca I don't think we were above a score — in fact we 
had gone no distance worth mentioning — and although 
I could not recommend anybody to take that way, it is 


A STRANGE STORY. 


23 


unquestionably the nearest. And I am sure I shall not 
try it again, nor any other." 

“ You have no idea, then, of making another at- 
tempt to find the Phantom City, even if you recover 
your health ? " 

“ No, I have not, Senor Doctor. One adventure of 
that sort is quite enough for a man of my age. Another 
like it would kill me outright. I have never been well 
since. I had a terrible attack of dysentery at Santa 
Rosa, and that and the wound seem to have completely 
ruined my constitution. But I will try your Swiss 
prescription, and see what that will do for me. Ah ! 
what's that ? " 

“ That " was a loud shouting and heavy trampling 
overhead, and at the same time the air darkened and 
the intense heat gave place to a refreshing coolness. 
Handsome Tommy's forebodings about the weather were 
coming true. 

“ I will go on deck and see what is the matter," 
I said, “ but first take this draught, and be quiet. 
You have excited yourself too much." 


24 


CHAPTER III. 

GONE. 

Captain Tobias was on the quarter-deck; his bronzed 
and manly features, though fixed and stern, bespoke 
neither anxiety nor apprehension, and he gave his 
orders with as much coolness and self-possession as if 
he were preparing for a summer day's journey, instead 
of a strife with the elements which might end in the 
destruction of his ship and the loss of all our lives. 
The men were making all snug — furling the sails, 
doubly securing the boats, battening down the hatches, 
and removing from the deck every object that could be 
removed. 

“ It’s coming,’' said the skipper, when he saw me — 
<( a regular buster." 

“ It's likely to be a fresh gale then ? " 

“ A gale ! I wish it was. No, my lad, it's a 
cyclone we are in for, and unless I am mistaken, a 
cyclone that we shall all of us remember as long as we 
live — if we live through it. The barometer has been 
going down with a run, and, look there ! " (pointing 
seaward) . 

The cloud, only an hour before no bigger than a 
man's hand, was now intensely black, and covered the 


GONE. 


25 


entire horizon like a pall. It grew more threatening 
every moment, and seemed as if it were hastening to 
meet and devour the now fast-reddening sun. The 
wind was rising too, and Tobias had to shout his orders 
through his speaking-trumpet. 

“ I cannot send you on board the Guadalquivir ” 
he said, “ you will have to be my guest to-night. But 
you are quite as safe here as on the big 'un, safer 
perhaps.” 

“ Thanks, very much,” I answered. t( I will he your 
guest with pleasure, Captain Tobias. It will be easy 
to join the Guadalquivir in the morning.” 

“ I hope so ; but whether it will or not remains to 
he seen. By Jove ! what is Shenstone up to ? Manning 
the capstan ! Getting up steam ! He is surely not 
going to weigh ? He is, as sure as Fm a sinner. And 
see there ! They are holding up a board with something 
chalked on it. What can it be, I wonder ? ” 

With that, Handsome Tommy put his glass to 
his eye and read aloud : “ I am going to another an- 
chorage.” 

“ Going to another anchorage ! Well, I don’t think 
you are wise, Shenstone. I shall stay where I am. 
I don't know of any better holding ground hereabouts 
than this.” 

And then the Guadalqiiivir steamed ahead, and 
took up another berth, but not so far off that we could 
not easily distinguish her dark hull, tapering masts, and 
big red funnels, even in the fast-waning light. For the 


26 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


clouds were now overspreading the face of the sun, 
which looked as if it were shining through a hole, and 
threw into the water a solid shaft of crimson fire that 
cast a lurid glare on the black vault above. 

A few minutes after the Guadalquivir had left 
her moorings, another steamer, under double-reefed 
topsails, emerged from the darkness, and crossed this 
streak of light, which brought every spar of her, and 
almost every rope, into full relief. Her funnels were 
sending out great volumes of smoke, and she was 
evidently steaming full speed. 

“It is the Ganges” said Tobias, taking a long 
look through his glass ; “ the Colon boat, I suppose. 
Thompson, finding that he was likely to be in the thick 
of the cyclone, thought it better to run back. Quite 
right too. He is not coming here though ; making for 
St. Thomas's. I hope he may get there in time.’' 

Handsome Tommy now gave orders to let go the 
sheet anchor, and pay out more cable. 

“We must make fast if we don’t want to be driven 
ashore," he said, smiling. “ You are getting steam up, 
I suppose, Mr. Malcolm ? " (to the chief engineer, who 
stood by). 

“ It is up now, Captain Tobias,” answered the Scot, 
imperturbably. “ Whenever you give the word we are 
ready." 

“ Why are you getting steam up ? " I asked, in some 
surprise. “ I thought you were going to stay here." 

“ So we are — if we can. But how if the cables 


GONE. 


27 


part, or the anchors drag ? What would become of us 
then ? Nobody who has not been in a cyclone can form 
an idea of what wind can do when it travels at the rate 
of a hundred miles an hour, with a pressure of fifty 
pounds to the square foot. I think I can give you an 
idea, though” 

With that Handsome Tommy whipped into his 
cabin. The next minute he reappeared with a bit of 
wood in his hand. It was part of a shutter, such as 
is commonly used in the West Indies, made of inch 
stuff, through which had been forced a square piece of 
equally thick roofing tile, and it still stuck there, hard 
and fast. 

“ That was done in the last cyclone at St. Thomas's/’ 
said the skipper. “ I keep it as a curiosity. If that 
bit of tile had struck a man it would have smashed his 
skull, or buried itself in his body. And many a poor 
fellow will meet his death in that way before tomorrow 
morning, I fear. I think one is almost as safe at sea as 
ashore in a cyclone, after all.” 

This was not very reassuring. The captain evidently 
thought we were in great danger ; and I could not dis- 
guise from myself that I might not live to see the light 
of another day, for, if the worst befell, escape would be 
out of the question. No man could swim, no boat live, 
in such a storm a,s that which was so nearly upon us. In 
spite of what Tobias had said, I began to regret having 
come aboard the Tobasco. A big ship always gives a 
greater sense of safety, and generally is safer than a 


28 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


little one. Moreover, the Guadalquivir was brand-new 
and built of iron ; the Tobasco , timber-built and old. 
But there was no help for it now ; and, being for- 
tunately blessed with a sanguine temperament, I hoped 
for the best, and went below to impart the news to my 
patient, which, in consideration for his weak state, I 
meant to do in such a way as to alarm him as little as 
might be. 

“ The wind is freshening, and it is likely to blow 
hard before morning,” I said. 

“ But we are surely not going to sail ! ” exclaimed 
Senor Domingo, in great alarm. “ I would much 
rather go ashore. Storms in these latitudes are dan- 
gerous .” 

When I told him that we were not going to move 
until the weather mended, he gave a sigh of relief. 

a I detest the sea,” he said, “ and, I confess it frankly, 
I am mortally afraid of a storm.” 

I began to think that Father Polycarp was not exactly 
the most courageous of men ; and there was something in 
his manner which made me suspect that, instead of his 
tame Indians having deserted him, he might possibly 
have deserted them. But perhaps I did him an in- 
justice ; he was not at all a bad fellow. 

Then we talked again about the Phantom City, 
his account of which had greatly excited my curiosity. 
He did not seem to have the slightest doubt of its 
existence. 

“ If I were as young and strong as yon are,” he 


GONE. 


29 


said, (( I would have another try to find it. But I 
should not start from the same place.” 

“ Where from, then ? ” 

“ I would either start from Flores, on the Laguna 
de Peten, and cross the Verapaz mountains into the 
valley of the Usamacinta, or follow the course of the 
Bio de la Passion, until it strikes the big river, and then 
try back. The Phantom City is most probably situated 
on or near one of the affluents of the Usamacinta, 
the source of which, as I told you, has never been 
discovered.” 

“ You don't think, then, that you saw it that 
time?” 

“ Frankly, I don’t. A city perhaps, but not the 
city, and if inhabited, only by Lacandones, Manches, 
and such-like ruffians. The Children of Light, if the 
stories we have heard be only partially true, are of 
another race and highly civilised.” 

“ So you said. Do you know, I almost feel as if I 
should like to have a look for it myself ! ” 

“ Do you, really ? If I felt sure you would But 

it is a big undertaking, and will cost some money. You 
might have to make several attempts before you suc- 
ceeded; and I was about to say Holy Virgin protect 

us ! We are going to the bottom ; the ship is over on 
her side.” 

Senor Domingo's alarm was premature. The To- 
basco had simply made a roll, and swung round rather 
violently, as if struck by a big sea or a sudden squall. 


30 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


The next moment she was herself again. All the same, 
the sensation was not a pleasant one, and my patient 
narrowly missed being thrown out of his hammock. So, 
after getting him into his bunk, which I thought the 
best place for him under the circumstances, I went once 
more on deck to see how the weather was shaping. 

It had become worse rapidly during the last half-hour. 
Dark clouds, streaked with red, completely veiled the 
sun ; the sea looked black and ugly, and there was a 
heavy swell on. Although we were under the lee of the 
land, the wind shrieked viciously among the shrouds, 
and the limit of the horizon was marked by a line 
of white foam. 

“ Every man secure himself,” sang out Handsome 
Tommy, in a voice that was heard from stem to stern. 

And then he lashed himself to the capstan. I did 
the same. The line of foam came nearer ; and as it 
approached I saw that it was a veritable wall of seeth- 
ing water, which towered high above the Tobasco's 
bulwarks. It fell on the deck with a shock that 
made the old ship reel like a drunken man, sweeping 
everything before it that was not part and parcel of the 
solid mass. The boats were torn away as if they had 
been fastened with pack-threads; and an unfortunate 
sailor, who had neglected the captain's warning, went 
with them ; his despairing cry, as he was dashed into the 
sea, ringing high above the roar of the storm. 

The wind rose every minute, and went on rising for 
hours. The strain on the cables was terrific, and 


GONE. 


31 


towards midnight the best bower parted with a report 
like the firing of a big gun. This contingency Tobias 
had foreseen, and the next moment the engines were 
going full speed, to ease the strain on our remaining 
cable ; and so terrible was the force of the wind that 
this was all they could do. If the sheet anchor had 
dragged, or the second cable parted, nothing could have 
saved us. Tobias kept the deck ; the first officer watched 
the cable (on which a rope had been bent to ease 
the strain) ; and Malcolm was at his post in the engine- 
room. When the wind lulled speed was reduced ; 
when it rose full steam was again put on. Every man 
on board knew that our lives depended on the staunch- 
ness of a chain and the strength of the engines. The 
breaking of a link or the starting of a bolt would 
have sent us all in a few brief minutes to eternity. 

* And so passed the night — a night of intense 
anxiety and agonising suspense. I learnt then, for 
the first time, how impotent is man in presence of 
the unchained forces of Nature, what waifs in God's 
world we are, and how little we can do to shape the 
destinies which sometimes, in our vanity, we think 
we can control. 

Towards morning the storm began to abate ; the 
wind went down faster than it had risen ; the sun 
rose in an azure sky, grandly serene, and utterly heed- 
less of the havoc and misery which the night had 
wrought. 

“ What has become of the Guadalquivir ? ” I asked 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


3 ^ 

Tobias, looking* in the direction where we had last seen 
her. 

Tobias looked too. Then he swept the horizon with 

his glass. 

“ The Guadalquivir is gone/' he said, solemnly. 

“ Gone ! You surely don't mean " 

The honest fellow bowed his head. His eyes were 
brimming with tears. Like myself, he had many dear 
friends on board the Guadalquivir . 

“ But are you sure ? " I gasped. “ May she not 
have gone somewhere else — to St. Thomas's, for in- 
stance ? " 

For answer Tobias handed me his glass. 

I looked, and saw, sticking out of the water, some- 
thing like a long pole, at the end of which streamed a 
red pennant. 

“ The Guadalquivir’ s topmast ? " 

The skipper nodded. 

“ And the people on board of her ? Don't you think 
it possible some of them may be saved ? " 

“ Not one. All are gone. Think what a night it 
was." 

“ And if you had not sent for me to see Senor 
Domingo, I should be gone too," I said, grasping 
Tommy's hand. 

“ Yes — rather a narrow squeak. A fortunate acci- 
dent, some would say. But I don't believe in accidents, 
and don’t you, Dr. Carlyon. Thank God for it ! It is 
He who saved, not your life only, but all our lives, last 


GONE. 


33 


night. Think of it ! That fine ship, new, and on her 
first voyage, gone to the bottom, while the old Tobasco 
has lived through it all ; and, except for the loss of her 
boats and a few spars, is very little the worse. It is 
true what the Old Book says — f The race is not 
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong/ ” 
Captain Tobias must have been deeply moved to 
make so long a speech, for he was a man of few words. 
But in what he said, and the events of the past night, 
there was food for serious thought ; and as I leaned, 
sad and pensive, over the taffrail, I mused, long and 
deeply, on the strange dispensation which, within a few 
hours, had twice saved my life, and brought me in con- 
tact with this Spanish priest — I forgot, for the moment, 
he was an Irishman. All this pointed to something. 
Could it be that I was the destined discoverer of the 
hidden city and the mysterious people of which he had 
told me, and which had already so greatly excited my 
curiosity ? 


D 


84 


CHAPTER IV. 
dominick's proposal. 

Though I had been often on deck during the night, 
I spent the greater part of the time with my patient, 
who suffered much both from sea-sickness and fear. If 
he had been in better health he would probably have 
shown greater courage ; but few men, whether they are 
well or ill, can go through such an experience as that 
which had just befallen us without experiencing some 
unpleasant sensations. 

Morning, which brought relief for all, unfortu- 
nately brought an aggravation of the feverish symptoms 
from which Senor Domingo had been suffering the day 
before, and I began to fear that I should have some 
difficulty in pulling him through. He bad no reserve 
of strength ; and a malady that in ordinary circum- 
stances would* have been easily enough cured, might 
prove too much for his enfeebled constitution. But 
the cyclone, which wrought so much evil, did also 
some good. By purifying and cooling the air, it 
brought about a notable diminution in the yellow 
fever and cholera which had been ravaging several of 
the West India Islands, and were especially virulent at 
St. Thomas's. It is quite possible, indeed, that the 


Dominick's proposal. 


35 


storm saved more lives than it destroyed ; and, though I 
would not venture to say that it saved my patient, I 
am sure that, had the intense heat continued, it 
would have gone very hard with him. Another cir- 
cumstance that told in his favour was my involuntary 
sojourn on board the Tobasco ; and, my own ship 
being lost, I was compelled to stay there altogether. 
Mr. Dominick, as he now desired to be called, thus 
became my sole patient ; and, as everybody knows, or 
ought to know, the more attention a doctor can give to 
a sick man the greater are his chances of recovery. 

The cyclone and its consequences naturally threw 
the sailing arrangements of the Royal Mail Company's 
fleet a good deal out of gear. The good ship Guadal- 
quivir, which should have carried the mails to England, 
was lying fathoms deep in Caribbean waters ; and the 
Ganges , a fine steamer that might have taken her place, 
had received so much damage in the cyclone that she 
required extensive repairs, and would not be in a con- 
dition to sail for weeks. Under these circumstances, 
the company’s agent at St. Thomas's decided to send the 
Tobasco to England with the remaining mails and the 
few passengers who had survived the tempest. True, 
she was rather old, but she was staunch, and her captain 
had proved himself a bold and skilful seaman, and well 
deserved promotion. So we had to run across to St. 
Thomas's, discharge one cargo and take in another, get 
fresh boats and more stores, replenish our water- 
(*asks and fill up our coal bunkers, operations which took 
d 2 


36 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


a good deal of time ; and only on the third day after he 
got sailing orders was Tobias able to weigh anchor and 
shape his course for Southampton. 

Our passengers numbered only some half a dozen, 
one of whom was Dominick. He had been rather dis- 
posed to continue his journey to Cuba ; but when I 
assured him that his life depended on his getting away 
from the tropics forthwith he resolved to take my 
advice and passage with the Tobasco. 

“ I have become so much accustomed to this part 
of the world, and like it so well, that I leave it with 
great reluctance,” he said. “ But all that a man hath 
will he give for his life, and really, you know, I don't 
want to die any sooner than I can help. So we will 
sail together to England, amigo mio. Providence evi- 
dently means us to be friends. It has thrown us to- 
gether in a marvellous way. My illness was the means 
of saving your life, and I think I may say that your 
skill has saved mine.” 

This was on the day we sailed. A few days later 
the fever had entirely left him, and by the time we sighted 
the Lizard he was convalescent. He sat and walked 
all day long on the deck, and rapidly regained his 
strength. Returning health, moreover, wrought a great 
change in his temper and manner. From being gloomy, 
morose, and irritable (with an occasional lucid interval), 
he became bright, cheerful, and genial. His gratitude 
to me was unbounded, and at times somewhat effusive, 
for he had the traditional Celtic temperament, and his 


Dominick’s proposal. 


37 


language was often characterised by that strain of high- 
flown exaggeration peculiar to the people among whom 
he had spent the greater part of his life. In vain I 
urged the absurdity of being grateful to a medical man. 

“ It is my duty to cure my patients if I can/’ I 
said, “ just as it is a shipmaster’s duty to save his ship 
if he can. You might as well be grateful to Tobias 
for not making a false reckoning, and running the 
Tolasco on a sunken rock, or to an engine-driver for 
not running you off the line.” 

“ Nonsense ! Your conduct has not been that of 
an [ordinary doctor, and you know it. You have not 
only treated me skilfully, you have nursed me like a 
brother, and watched over me day and night — day and 
night. You have saved my life, and I insist on being 
grateful. My own brother, or my own son — if it were 
possible for a priest to have a son — could not have shown 
greater kindness and devotion.” 

“ Because I had nothing else to do. You are my 
sole patient, remember.” 

“ Santissima Maria ! How cold and unresponsive 
you English are ! Yet if you are cold and proud, you 
are neither greedy nor vain. A French or a Spanish 
doctor would have taken all the praise he could get, and 
a thumping fee besides. But what am I saying ? If 
I had been attended by a Spanish doctor it is food for 
fish I should be this moment. But never mind ; you 
have saved my life, and that . is enough for me. And 
1 am going to ask you to add to the obligation.” 


38 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


a I am sure I shall only be too glad — anything in 
my power — how, might I ask ? ” 

“ By completing the undertaking in which I failed 
— the discovery of the Phantom City. You are just 
the man for it — young, robust, and stalwart, and, as 
I could tell by the look of you — even if you had not 
proved it that night of the cyclone — as bold as a lion. 
You know Spanish, too, which counts for a good deal, 
and your surgical skill and scientific knowledge will 
avail you much. Yes, you are just the man. You have 
all the qualifications. If anybody can find the Phan- 
toms you can, Senor Doctor.” 

“ You are pleased to flatter me, Mr. Dominick. But, 
I confess it, I should like to attempt this enterprise. 
The legend you speak of and your descriptions of the 
country have roused my curiosity. I had no idea there 
was so much of Central America still unexplored and 
inhabited only by tribes of unconquered and mysterious 
Indians. Yes, I should like to find the Phantom City, 
and if I did not find that, I should be sure to find 
much that is well worth seeing. All the same, I don't 
quite see my way.” 

“ See your way ! Well, I don't think you are 
likely to do that, unless you get yourself fitted with a 
pair of wings/' laughed Dominick. “ You will have to 
feel your way, and leave a good deal to Providence. 
Ways are few, and bad at that, in Central America, 
amigo mio. Why, the Camino real — the royal road — is 
only like a big furrow through a ploughed field I ” 


dominions proposal. 


39 


“ I do not mean seeing my way in that sense, 
reverend sir (Dominick winced, he did not like to be 
reminded of his sacred calling). To speak frankly, it 
is with me a question of money. My father left me 
only a small income — about a hundred a year. The pay 
of a ship's surgeon is no great shakes, and I fear I am 
not so careful as I should be. Anyhow, I have so little 
beforehand, that I could not possibly afford to spend 
several months, perhaps years, travelling in Central 
America." 

“ I am delighted to hear you say so, my dear sir ; 
I feared you might be a rich man. Yes, I am delighted 
beyond measure." 

“ Delighted that I am a poor man, Mr. Dominick. 
But why ? " I exclaimed, in some surprise, for his de- 
light was evidently quite sincere. 

“ Because it gives me an opportunity of proving 
the reality of my gratitude, and promoting a good 
cause at the same time. I told you I had inherited a 
thrifle of money, did not I ? " 

“ From a Yucatanero, who had made a pile in the 
United States of the North." 

“ Exactly. He called me his dear friend and spiri- 
tual father, the decent man, and left me a matter of 
twenty thousand pounds." 

“ Twenty thousand pounds ! And you call that a 
trifle of money. I call it a fine fortune." 

“ I don't like to exaggerate, my dear sir. There is 
nothing so much becomes a man as modesty. And 


40 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


there are people — Rothschild and Vanderbilt for in- 
stance — who would look upon twenty thousand pounds 
as quite an unconsidered trifle — unless you asked them 
for a loan of the same, and then they would be as hard 
as if they had not another cent. Well, yes, it is a 
fine fortune, and to tell the truth I feel myself awfully 
rich, a regular Croesus ; all the more so, as, having 
invested my wealth in a country where interest 
is high, it makes me a larger income than I should 
be after getting from your British Consols, which 
are only securities for millionaires. I don’t spend 
a third of it — couldn't, in fact, if I tried. And now 
to business. If you'll oblige me by undertaking 
this search for the Phantom City, I'll place a thousand 
pounds at your disposal as soon as ever we are on dry 
land, and when that is spent, as much more as you 
want. What say you to that, amigo mio ? " 

“ I accept your offer with all my heart, and pledge 
myself to find the Phantom City — if it exists — or perish 
in the attempt." 

“ Spoken like a true Englishman. You English 
have some good points, though you do behave so 
badly to ould Ireland. I will say that. But I don't 
think you will perish. You have a lucky look, and the 
Providence that protected you so marvellously in West 
Indian waters will not desert you in Central American 
wilds. Anyhow, you may be quite easy in your mind. 
If anything happens- — if you should — if you should not 
come back — I’ll provide handsomely for your widdy." 


DOMINIONS PROPOSAL. 


41 


“ Widow ! Why, I am not married." 

“ But you may be. We none of us know what trials 
are before us, and there are some very pretty girls in 
Yucatan," said the reverend gentleman, with a look that 
made me laugh. 

“ It is very well to provide for contingencies, but to 
talk of providing for a man's widow before he gets a 
wife is rather too suggestive to be altogether pleasant," 
I answered. 

“Well, perhaps it is. And now I am going to tell 
you something which is unpleasantly suggestive for me. 
I intend to make you my heir." 

“ Your heir ! You are joking, Mr. Dominick." 

“ Devil a bit. I mean, not at all. When I reach 
England I shall make a will, and leave you my 
‘ universal legatee, 5 as the Spaniards say. All the same, 
I hope it will be a long time before you come into 
your fortune, for I enjoy life too much to want to quit 
it before the end of the century." 

“I hope so too. But you are too generous, my 
dear sir. I have no claim on you, and there are 
those who have. And your relations in Ireland — I 
should be sorry for you to deprive them of what is 
rightly theirs.” 

“ Dear, dear, Doctor Carlyon ! For a man of superior 
education, with a head on his shoulders, you talk very 
much at random. I will answer your objections seriatim. 
How can I be too generous when I only propose to 
leave you what I cannot take away with me ? You have 


42 THE PHANTOM CITY. 

a claim on me, and a very great one, more than any other 
human being. My relations in Ireland are nearly all 
dead, and those who still live I don't like ; and, finally, 
nothing that is mine can rightly be theirs. I have 
made up my mind to make you my heir, and nothing 
shall prevent me. But don't fear (smiling), I shall not 
put you in the way of a temptation that might be too 
great a trial for your virtue. After the document is 
signed, I mean to take no more of your physic, Senor 
Doctor. Quien sabe ? (who knows ?) you might be 
putting curare in it, and that would not cure me, I'm 
thinking. And now about the exploration. When will 
you start ? " 

“ I shall send in my resignation as soon as we reach 
Southampton, and be ready to start after a fortnight’s 
run ashore." 

“ Good ; your promptitude augurs well for your 
success. Where will you go first ? " 

“ Where you may advise." 

“Well, you have plenty of choice in the way of 
routes. Merida, Belize, Campeachy, Carmen, Guate- 
mala," said Mr. Dominick, thoughtfully. “ But, every- 
thing considered, you had perhaps better go first to 
Merida. I have good friends there, who will give you 
all the help and information in their power. You should 
learn something of one of the Indian languages, too ; 
and, though there is as great a confusion of tongues 
among the aborigines as there was at the Tower of Babel, 
Mayan is said to be the oldest, and will probably be the 


Dominick's proposal. 


43 


most useful. I should not be at all surprised if it is the 
language spoken by the Children of Light.’' 

“ Why do they call themselves Children of Light ? " 

“ Heaven only knows ! Perhaps because they are 
light-complexioned or light-haired. I hope it is not 
because they are light-fingered or light-headed." 

“ By-the-bye, Mr. Dominick, you never told me what 
became of those fellows who deserted you." 

“ Did not I ? Oh, I believe the villains got safely 
home." 

“ Do you think they bolted before the appearance of 
those Indians with the poisoned arrows, or after?" 

“ After, of course. But the fact is I have not nerve 
to conduct such an expedition. I think you have. I 
ought to have shot that Tree Indian I told you about." 

“ Shot him ! Why? He did not attack you." 

“No, but he told the others, and they attacked me 
with a vengeance. Shoot every Tree Indian you see. 
That is my advice. You will regret it if you don't." 

This recommendation to shoot people in cold blood, 
coming from a man so good-natured as Dominick, and 
a minister of the gospel to boot, startled me not a 
little; but, remembering his Irish blood and his Spanish 
training, I thought it would perhaps be as well not to 
enter into a discussion on the subject, and so let it 
drop. 

" When will you go to Switzerland ? " I asked. 

“When you start for Central America/’ was the 


answer. 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ I should advise you to stay in Europe a whole 
year/' 

“ How so ? You said six months would make me 
another man/' 

“ So I think still. But if you want to effect a 
radical cure of that wound, and thoroughly renovate 
your constitution, you should have a full year in Europe. 
Spend the summer in the Alps and the winter in the 
Riviera." 

“ 1 am in your hands, Dr. Carlyon, and I will do as 
you say. A year hence — no, better say thirteen months 
— we will try to meet at Merida. I, let us hope, with 
renovated health ; you with a full account of the Phantom 
City and the Children of Light, and an exciting story of 
moving accidents by flood and field." 

“ If I am there first I will wait for you ; if you are 
there first you will wait for me. Is it agreed ? " 

“ It is agreed." 

Shortly afterwards Dominick went his way and 1 
went mine, and, as the reader will presently learn, a 
good many things happened before we met again. 


45 


CHAPTER V. 

THE MYSTERIOUS PENINSULA. 

A few weeks later I was sailing in the track of the old 
Spanish navigators towards the setting snn. I voyaged 
by way of St. Thomas and Havana; and one fine 
morning, just as night was melting into day, a silvery 
haze uprose from the silent sea, revealing the low and 
sandy coast of Yucatan, which, in an age incalculably 
remote, may have stretched as far as Cuba, possibly as 
far as Africa. It is possible, too, that without it 
Europe would never have become a centre of civilisation, 
nor this island the home of our race, for many geo- 
graphers hold that the Yucatan Peninsula diverts the 
Gulf Stream in a northerly direction, and, deprived of 
that warm current of the ocean, Britain would be a 
mass of ice and snow, and no fit habitation for man. 
Yet, if the prominent position of the Peninsula has 
done good, it has also wrought evil. By attracting 
the notice of Spanish discoverers, it led to the conquest 
of Anahuac, and the untold ills which have resulted 
from that dire event. Once the seat of an ancient 
civilisation, the splendid relics of which are scattered 
broadcast over the land, Yucatan is now an outlying 
state of the Mexican Republic ; but a great part of 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


its nominal territory is held by unsubdued and revolted 
Indians, animated by feelings of deadly hatred towards 
the degenerate descendants of their former oppressors, 
who, unable to keep the land once conquered by their 
forefathers, are continually receding before an advancing 
flood of barbarism, which threatens ere long utterly to 
overwhelm them. 

Beyond the landward limits of the Peninsula lies a 
mysterious country of virgin forests, vast rivers, and 
volcanic peaks, bounded on the south by a chain of 
lofty mountains, which pour their waters on the one 
side into the Gulf of Mexico, on the other into the 
Pacific Ocean. 

It was somewhere in this unknown region that I 
hoped to find the Phantom City and the Children of 
Light. 

Yet, though Yucatan is so interesting a country, 
there is nothing remarkable in the scenery of its coast, 
which contrasts almost painfully with the superb beauty 
of the Antilles, and the wild grandeur of the Spanish 
Main. 

When the Ganges “ let go " in rapidly shoaling water, 
several miles from land, and I saw a white sand-bank, 
hardly rising above sea-level, dotted with palm-trees, 
among which were interspersed a few tile-roofed houses 
and a long wharf, blazing in the sun, and was told that 
this was Progresso, the chief port of the Peninsula, I 
felt both disappointed and depressed. I had expected — 
I don't know why — something much more striking, and 


THE MYSTERIOUS PENINSULA.. 


47 


I saw in this early disenchantment a bad augury for 
the success of my enterprise. But I was always too 
susceptible to outward influences; and though I have 
since , in a great measure, outgrown this weakness, I am 
not even yet proof against the depressing influence of a 
dull day or a melancholy landscape. 

We — I mean the other passengers of the Ganges and 
myself— went ashore in a lighter, and were driven to 
Merida, some twenty-four miles from Progresso, in the 
carriage of the country — the Yucatecan caleza — which 
is not unlike the Cuban volante . 

I liked Merida as much as I disliked Progresso. 
It has an old-world look, and its buildings — though 
the style of their architecture is mainly Moorish and 
Spanish — have about them something weird and mys- 
terious, which reminds the beholder of the ruined 
buildings of Coban, and the vanished civilisation of the 
old Toltec race. As my caleza rattled through the 
quaint streets, I could see, through paneless and iron- 
barred windows, groups of lovely girls with pale faces, 
black lustrous eyes, and raven hair — imprisoned and 
curious beauties, for, except at Carnival time, the 
Yucataneros keep their women almost as closely secluded 
as if they were followers of the False Prophet and 
dwellers in some far Eastern clime. 

Merida is one of the most favoured of American 
cities, for, though hot enough in all conscience, it is not 
unhealthy, and enjoys complete immunity from earth- 
quakes and cyclones. I cannot truthfully say that the 


48 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


men are brave, but they are wonderfully kind, and 
exquisitely courteous ; and the women — at any rate, 
the young* ones — are gracious and beautiful, with a 
beauty all their own ; and their picturesque dress 
does not, like that of their European sisters, disguise 
or distort the natural shapeliness of their bodies. I 
was not surprised to learn that no native of Merida 
ever leaves it without a fixed intention to return and 
spend there the remainder of his days. 

Dominick's letters of introduction procured me a 
friendly reception, and opened to me many hospitable 
doors. His name acted as a charm, for he was well 
known, and had been very popular in Merida; but, as 
his attempt to find the Phantom City was looked upon 
as Quixotic and slightly absurd, I took care not to dis- 
close the true object of my visit; saying, merely, that I 
intended to explore the ruined cities of the neighbour- 
hood, and might possibly go as far as Palenque in one 
direction, and Coban in the other. All the same, I found 
that everybody not only believed more or less in the 
existence of this particular city, far away in the South, 
but of other cities in Yucatan itself, where unconquered 
Indians still worship the gods of their fathers, and 
keep up their old customs, and into which no white man 
is allowed to enter. The Meridaneros tremble at their 
very name. If a stranger penetrates into their country, 
the wild men of the woods either incontinently hack 
him to pieces with their machetes , or, putting a 
ring through his nose, fasten him by a long line to a 


THE MYSTERIOUS PENINSULA. 


49 


stake, and torture him to death at leisure. These 
savages are rapidly extending their territory at the ex- 
pense of the whites and the agricultural Indians; 
ranch and hacienda are being destroyed one after the 
other, and the land of their owners added to the pos- 
sessions of the dreaded sublevados (insurgent Indians). 

It is significant of the fear these sublevados inspire, 
that when I proposed to visit the ruins of Chichen- 
Itza, which are near their country, though only about 
thirty miles from Merida, I was strongly urged to 
engage a military escort. It seemed rather ridiculous, 
but as I neither wanted to be chopped in pieces with 
machetes , nor have a ring put through my nose, I did 
as I was advised. 

Fortunately, no hostile Indians made their appearance ; 
if they had done so I very much fear that the ragged 
soldiers of my escort would have left me in the lurch. 
And yet Merida has a population of fifty thousand, and 
the sublevados — whose haunt is chiefly in the north-west 
corner of the Peninsula — do not number more than six 
or seven thousand ! 

I will not inflict on my readers a description of the 
ruins of Chichen-Itza, nor of those of Uxmal and Ake, 
which I visited more than once. Words would fail to 
convey any adequate idea of their grandeur and mag- 
nificence, or of the impression they made on my mind. 
Some authorities assign to these mysterious monuments 
an antiquity of thousands of years ; and one enthusiastic 
explorer has expressed the opinion that the cradle of the 

E 


50 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


world’s civilisation must be sought in Central America. 
But so far as I was concerned, these speculations, how- 
ever interesting, were of secondary importance. It was 
much more to the purpose that, according to an old 
tradition, there once existed in that part of the country 
where Yucatan, Guatemala, and Southern Mexico come 
together, a great theocratic State, whose capital bore 
the name of Xibalba (pronounced Hibalba ), the very 
region I was bent on exploring. 

Could it be, I asked myself, that Xibalba and the 
Phantom City were the same ? 

I spent the most of my time in studying the Mayan 
language, reading the works of Bernal Diaz, and other 
ancient and modern travellers, making inquiries about 
the country and the people, and otherwise preparing for 
my expedition. When it became known that I was 
a medical man I had soon several patients. I even 
earned a few dollars ; and I believe that if I could have 
remained in the place I might have made a very fair 
practice. But I was anxious to be on the move ; and a 
few weeks after my arrival I reluctantly quitted the 
Yucatecan capital, and began the first part of my inland 
journey. 

After long thought, and much poring over maps, 
I resolved to make first for Campeachy, and go 
thence to Peten, either by the direct trail or by Carmen 
and the lower Usamacinta. But, as I could not well 
travel alone, even if it had been expedient, I engaged an 
Indian servant, who knew the country, and rejoiced in 


THE MYSTERIOUS PENINSULA. 


51 


the name of Pedro. Though short in stature, he was as 
muscular as a small Hercules, and as hard as nails. 
Chance, or, as Handsome Tommy would have said, 
Providence, also provided me with another companion. 
While staying at the Hotel Mexico, at Merida, I made 
the acquaintance of a Spaniard, who bore the high- 
sounding appellation of Senor Hon Felipe Gomez de la 
Plata y Sombrero. He had been a play-actor at Madrid, 
a merchant's clerk at Cuba, a soldier in Nicaragua, and 
jack-of-all-trades in Guatemala. He had, moreover, seen 
a good deal of Central America, and spoke fluently the 
Mayan language. But, though rich in names, he was 
poor in purse ; and when he knew that I was about to 
make a journey into the interior, he proposed to accom- 
pany me, “in any capacity," asking for no other re- 
muneration than his keep. As he was a lively young 
fellow, and might, I thought, prove useful when we got 
further afield, I took him, on his own terms, as my 
assistant — a title of which he seemed very proud — 
promising that if I could turn his service to account 
I would give him regular pay. But I made it a con- 
dition that I should not be expected to address him by 
all his names and titles ; he must choose the one he 
liked best, and drop the rest. To this he rather de- 
murred, observing that his family was one of the noblest 
in all Aragon, and that he had in his veins some of the 
bluest blood of Spain. However, he ended by agreeing 
to be known as Hon Gomez. The Don was a sine 
qua non ; and as it was not a very big mouthful, I 
e % 


52 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


gracefully conceded the point. If I had dared, I would 
have dubbed him Sancho Panza ; for though as deter- 
mined as ever to go on, and full of hope as to the success 
of my adventure, it reminded me, in some respects, 
of that once undertaken by the famous Knight of La 
Mancha and his faithful servitor and squire. 


53 


CHAPTER VI. 

CORNERED BY A CAYMAN. 

We had three beasts of burden : a horse and two mules. 
The horse I rode myself ; one mule carried Don Gomez ; 
the other, Pedro and the baggage. But incase of need, 
the Indian was. quite capable of footing it all the way, 
and carrying our belongings on his shoulders — mine, 
rather, for, besides the clothes on his back, Senor de la 
Plata y Sombrero's entire equipment consisted of a 
tooth-brush and a banjo. As for Pedro, all he possessed 
were a pair of trousers, a shirt, which he wore outside 
them, a hat, and a machete — a long, broad, sword-like 
knife, which could be used with equal facility either to 
fell a tree or split a skull. 

It is hardly necessary to say that we were armed. 
I had brought with me from England a repeating- 
rifle, a double-barrelled fowling-piece, and an army 
revolver. I carried the rifle and the revolver, txomez 
the fowling-piece, with which he seemed greatly pleased, 
and which he handled as if he knew how to use it. 

The Spaniard was a great rattle, and an amusing 
companion. He had the art of putting everybody in 
good-humour ; and when we made a halt at a hacienda, 
there was nothing he liked better than to play a few 
airs on his banjo, and perhaps sing a song or two for the 


54 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


benefit of our hosts, who — though the Don's performance 
was mediocre, and his voice harsh — found the entertain- 
ment so much to their liking that they often pressed us 
to prolong our stay; for it is one of the delights of 
travel in Northern Yucatan, that any hacendado (estate- 
owner) at whose house you may call will give you 
courtly welcome and ungrudging hospitality, thinking 
himself more than repaid by a friendly gossip and the latest 
news from Europe or the States. Inns there are none. 

The part of the Peninsula through which we were 
travelling was flat and — owing to its sunny climate, 
often too sunny to be pleasant — somewhat arid. Yucatan 
is, in truth, a great coral reef, totally destitute of 
surface water ; and without its mysterious under- 
ground streams and lakelets, the country would be a 
desert. The rain percolates through the porous ground, 
hollows out huge caverns, and forms deep pools, which 
are said to communicate either with the river system of 
the south, or the lagoons of the coast ; a theory that, 
judging by a rather startling bit of comedy in which I 
played the leading part, is very likely to be true. 

Many of these pools, known as cenotes , being easily 
accessible, are utilised as bathing -places — and glorious 
baths they make. Imagine a cavern, forty or fifty feet 
deep, broken down at one side, and forming on the 
other an arch of stalagmite and stalactite, the haunt of 
winged creatures innumerable. Coco palms and avocado 
pear-trees grow at the bottom, thrusting their verdant 
crowns into a garden where great oranges hang in 


CORNERED BY A CAYMAN. 


55 


clusters, and rich flowers perfume the air. A flight of 
stone steps leads to the water’s edge ; and as you look 
upwards you see swallows circling in dense masses above 
the opening, while lizards and iguanas dart about the 
ledges of the rock, and hide among the tree-roots which 
hang from the coral roof of the cenote. The water is 
clear and deep, and exquisitely cool. 

When, after riding all day under a burning sun, you 
reach your journey’s end almost too exhausted to speak, 
your skin, it may be, smarting with mosquito bites and 
itching to madness with prickly heat, I know of no 
luxury to compare with a plunge into one of these fairy 
lakelets. It is as if you had taken a deep draught of 
the elixir of life ; you leave your woes in the water, and 
come out a fresh creature, refreshed and reinvigorated 
both in body and mind. 

Fairy lakelets, with magic waters, are these Yuca- 
tecan cenotes , yet not always the haunts of fays (only 
when Mayan maidens bathe in their cool recesses). 

Arriving one evening at a hacienda, after a particu- 
larly hard and dusty ride, I asked, almost before I dis- 
mounted, if there happened to be a cenote thereabouts. 

“ Certainly,” was the answer ; “ in that grove of 
mimosa and ceiba trees yonder, beyond the alameda 
(shaded walk).” 

The next moment I was hurrying as fast as my stif- 
fened legs would allow me in the direction pointed out. 

A big cenote , under the shade of tall trees with 
trailing branches ; a deep oval pool, at least sixty feet 


56 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


wide, evidently the reach of a large underground river. 
After the intense heat and the blazing sunshine, the 
green coolness and the dim religious light of the cavern 
were inexpressibly grateful and refreshing. In two 
minutes I had doffed my clothes and taken a header 
into the crystal water. Right up the middle of the 
pool ran a reef of crimson coral ; hut in the centre of it 
was a gap through which I swam, and, on reaching the 
other side, I sat me down on a ledge, drew a long breath, 
and looked round. Overhead were the usual rocky vault, 
pendent roots, and darting lizards, and the air outside 
was thick with wheeling troops of swallows and hornets. 

Heaving a deep sigh of pleasure and relief, I dropped 
once more into the fairy pool, and was making for the 
gap, when I saw something black sticking out of the 
water. What was it ? where could it have come from ? 
I asked myself. I went nearer ; I looked a second time. 
Horror ! it was the snout of an enormous alligator. 

In less time than it takes to tell I was back on the 
ledge. 

No, I was not mistaken.' I could hear the snapping 
of the creature's jaws, which looked big enough to take 
me in at a single mouthful. I sat there fully half an 
hour, hoping he would go away, for there was no road 
out except by the gap. But as he did not show the 
slightest intention to move, I began to get impatient, 
and thought how I should get rid of him. I had heard 
that alligators, like sharks, were easily frightened by 
noises. I made noises. I splashed the water, I yelled. 


CORNERED BY A CAYMAN. 


57 


I shouted, I threw stones, greatly to the surprise of the 
lizards, which darted about more frantically than ever. 
But it was not the least use. The cayman remained 
there, as immovable as fate, always with his snout out 
of the water, and glaring at me with his dull leaden 
eyes. Then I tried to stare him out. I might as well 
have tried to stare a knot out of a tree. 

There was clearly nothing for it but to wait until I 
was rescued. My absence will alarm Gomez, I thought, 
and he is sure to come here and look for me. 

So he did, but not for an unconscionably long time. 
The Don was a devoted admirer of the fair sex, and, 
while I was at the cenote , he was philandering with the 
girls of the hacienda, strumming on his banjo, and sing- 
ing love songs in his own unlovely voice. It was only 
when Pedro suggested that the Senor Doctor was a long 
time with his bathing that Gomez knew I had not come 
back, and it occurred to him that it might be as well to 
look after me. 

By this time the sun had set, but there was a moon 
that did almost as well, and when he and Pedro came 
down into the cenote I could see them, though they 
could not see me. 

“ Senor Doctor ! Senor Doctor ! Are you here ? ” 
shouted the Don. 

“ Yes, I am very much here/’ I answered, with a 
shiver, for I was sitting stark naked on a cold and not 
very smooth stone, and the moonbeams, though bright, 
were not particularly warm. 


58 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


cc It gives me immense pleasure to hear you say so, 
Senor Doctor. We were beginning to fear some harm 
had befallen you. I hope you are enjoying yourself.” 

“ Enjoying myself ! ” I exclaimed indignantly. 
“ Do you think I am staying here, in this ridiculous 
position, and on this confounded stone, because I like 
it ? Don't you see that I am a prisoner ? ” 

“ A prisoner ! ” 

“ Yes, a prisoner. Look there in the water — at your 
side of the reef.” 

“Caramba! Why, it is a cayman. How did he 
get there ? ” 

“That I cannot tell you. My chief concern just 
now is how to get him away.” 

“Oh, we will soon do that, Senor Doctor. Now, 
Pedro ! ” 

And then they pelted the alligator with stones, 
cursed him in Spanish and Mayan, and shouted and 
yelled until I thought they would bring the roof of the 
cavern about our ears. But they might as well have 
tried to frighten an earthquake. The cayman did 
not even wink. He stuck to his post as grim as 
death, except for an occasional yawn, giving no sign 
of life. 

“ It is no use, Don Gomez,” I said ; “ you might as 
well whistle. Fetch my rifle, and shoot the beast.” 

“ That is no use either, Senor Doctor, his back is 
bullet-proof, and his belly is under water. I know of a 
surer way than that. Possess your soul in patience a 


CORNERED BY A CAYMAN. 


59 


few minutes, and I’ll fetch him. You stay here, Pedro, 
and keep the Senor Doctor company/ 5 

And with that Gomez whipped out of the cavern, 
running up the steps like a lamplighter. In ten 
minutes, which seemed like twenty, for I got colder and 
colder, and the stone did not get any smoother, he was 
back with something under his arm. Then he went to 
the far end of the cenote, and the next moment I heard 
the howl of anguish which a dog gives when you pinch 
his tail. The effect on the cayman was magical. With 
a hungry snap of his jaws, and a great sweep of his tail, 
he swerved right round and went full speed for the howl. 
There is nothing an alligator likes so well as dog. 

“ Now ’s your time, Senor Doctor !” shouted Gomez. 

Before the words were out of his mouth I was in 
the water; and two minutes later I was safe on the 
other side, rubbing myself down with a rough towel. 

“ All right, Don Gomez ! Has he got the dog ? ” 
I shouted. 

“ No, he has not, and I don't mean to 0 let him, 
obstinate brute that he is. There, you have done your 
duty, go ! ” and the next moment the dog was running 
up the steps, faster, I should think, than he ever ran in 
all his life before. 

As we went out of the cavern the cayman returned 
to his post before the gap, under the impression, pro- 
bably, that, though he had been disappointed of his dog, 
there was still material in the cenote for a substantial 
meal — and there we left him. 


60 


CHAPTER VII. 

THE FIRST ARROW. 

“ There, Senor Doctor, what think you of that?” ex- 
claimed Don Gomez, reining in his mule. “ Said I not 
rightly that Campeachy was a fine city ; that you would 
like it much better than Merida ? ” 

We were on the hill of San Francisco, the sun was 
sinking behind the sierras, and never did his rays gild a 
richer landscape or the glow of evening rest on a more 
charming picture. In front of us was a splendid pano- 
rama of white houses, cultivated fields, blooming gar- 
dens, and greenest verdure ; while the walls and towers 
of the town stood out in strong relief, and were reflected 
in the azure waters of the Mexican Gulf. A fine city 
Campeachy is not, yet few cities are more picturesquely 
placed, and Nature has lavished on it some of her choicest 
gifts. The fibrous cleomea blooms in luxuriant hedge- 
rows ; the fragrant arathemis perfumes the beach ; the 
pitaya , climbing the trunks of stately trees, suspends its 
flowers and fruit from their branches; the Mexican 
poppy hangs its golden petals in road and street, and 
gay Caballeros and dark-eyed senoritas lounge and flirt 
in the orange groves that fringe the alameda of Santa 
Anna. 


THE FIRST ARROW. 


61 


Yet Campeachy is not quite an earthly paradise; 
good Americans would possibly give the palm to Paris ; 
and there are Englishmen who might prefer London, or 
even the Black Country, as a permanent place of abode. 
The climate is hot, and in the rainy season unhealthy ; 
yellow fever is not an infrequent visitor, and both town 
and country are infested by swarms of ferocious insects, 
which, under the combined influences of heat and mois- 
ture, multiply prodigiously. Cockroaches, scorpions, 
centipedes, and mosquitoes, are as thick as leaves in 
autumn — so numerous, indeed, as to render some parts 
of the coast positively uninhabitable. 

Then the forests are thronged with garrapatas , horrible 
creatures, which bury head and claws so deeply under 
your skin as to make their extraction impossible without 
leaving behind some part of their bodies to fret and 
fester in your flesh. And if by good fortune you escape 
these tiny man-eaters, you may not improbably encounter 
the deadly naliuyaca , a poisonous snake whose bite, 
though almost invisible, is nearly always fatal. Its 
victims are said to sweat blood, and die in terrible 
agony. 

Lovely to look at, Campeachy is about the last place 
in the world to live in. 

But I had not come to study the natural history of 
the country, or its eligibility as a residence. I intended 
to make it the point of departure for my expedition. 
So far, I had been travelling luxuriously ; now I was 
about to plunge into the wilderness, and Campeachy was 


62 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the last place where I could obtain money and supplies, 
and, as I hoped, valuable information. I meant also, if 
possible, to enlist two or three trustworthy recruits ; for 
I felt sure that if I took with me only Indians I should 
fail as utterly as Dominick had failed. The native 
whites were not much better ; they have neither enter- 
prise nor endurance. I could not rely on them in a 
fight ; and, unless all my information was at fault, we 
should not reach the Phantom City without a good deal 
of fighting. Gomez was all right. I told him about my 
project as we came along, and he declared his determi- 
nation to stand by me through thick and thin, happen 
what might. 

“ I have nothing but my life,” he said, “ and that is 
not worth much. I come of a race that never feared 
death, and I will go with you to this Phantom City, 
Senor Doctor, even though ten thousand Indian devils 
barred the way.” 

Bold words, but Spaniards are tall talkers by nature ; 
the Don, however, was no coward. 

I came by another recruit in a way equally welcome 
and unexpected. While calling upon a merchant, to 
whom I had letters of introduction from friends at 
Merida, I happened to mention that I was contemplating 
a journey into the unexplored interior, and should be 
glad if I could find a companion or two. 

“ I know just the man for you,” said the merchant. 
“ He is an American of the North, who has come here 
on business, and would like to see something more of 


THE FIRST ARROW. 


63 


the country, if he can get anybody to go with him. I 
will bring you together.” 

And so he did. The moment I set eyes on the 
American of the North I liked him. A tall, big-boned, 
straight-backed man of about thirty, with a bronzed 
face, a short brown beard, hazel eyes, a pleasant smile, 
and the quiet, self-contained manner so characteristically 
American. The name on his card was "Austin B. 
Wildfell.” He had come to Campeachy in connection 
with a “ spec.” in logwood, he said, and, being on the 
spot, he had rather a notion of exploring the country 
a bit, about which, as he understood, very little was 
known. Might he join my party ? 

“ Certainly,” I answered. And then I inquired if 
his object was curiosity — or something else. 

“ Both curiosity and something else. Dr. Carlyon. 
I like travelling in new countries, and I want to see 
what sort of woods this country grows, especially dye- 
woods, in which it is reported to be very rich. I guess, 
too, there is gold in it ; and I should not much object 
to find a quarry of auriferous quartz or horn silver. A 
friend of mine found gold on the Rio Frio, but he was 
quite alone, and the Indians were too many for him.” 

On this I explained my object, told him all I knew 
about the Phantom City, and said, finally, that if he 
joined me I should expect him to go to the journey's 
end, the perils of which I fully disclosed. 

“ I'll go with you,” he said quietly. “ I'd like to 
see that city most particular. And, as for the danger. 


64 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


I’ve faced worse enemies than naked Indians who fight 
with bows and arrows. I saw service in our war.” 

“ Ah ! it struck me you looked like an old soldier. 
In what capacity, might I ask ? ” 

“ Full private.” 

This increased my respect for Mr. Wildfell. I had 
met a good many Americans who had “ served in our 
war,” but none who acknowledged having held any lower 
rank than that of colonel or major. To have been a 
private in the Federal Army was a rare distinction, and 
I honoured my new friend accordingly. 

But his business was not quite completed, and he 
could not leave Campeachy for a fortnight. I did not 
want to stay at Campeachy a fortnight ; I wanted to be 
pushing on. This difficulty, after a short talk, was 
settled to our mutual satisfaction. 

Until I met Mr. Wildfell I had not quite decided 
whether it would be better to make for Peten, as far as 
I could, by water, or go all the way overland. I wanted 
to explore the country in both directions ; but, that being 
impossible, I proposed he should take the one route, I 
the other. I would start first, travel by Carmen and 
the Laguna de los Terminos, get as far as I could up 
the Usamacinta, and join him at Flores on the lake of 
Peten. If he left Campeachy ten days or a fortnight 
after me, taking the land trail all the way, we should 
probably arrive about the same time — the one who 
arrived first to wait for the other. 

Wildfell agreed. 


THE FIRST ARROW. 


65 


“ Next Thursday week I shall set out for this Flores 
— Flowers does not it mean ? And you may expect me 
when I get there, which will be as soon as I can. And, 
as you want another hand or two, I’ll see if I cannot 
bring somebody with me warranted to stand fire. Half 
a dozen of us, well armed, should walk through any 
amount of wild Indians 

On this understanding I transferred my horse and 
the two mules to my new ally, and took passage for 
myself, Gomez, and Pedro, in a sailing-boat hound for 
Carmen. Before leaving Campeachy I got the Don a 
new suit of clothes, for the old ones had suffered so 
much from the journey that he had hardly a rag to 
his back. I also gave him a few dollars on account of 
his pay, and I was amused to notice that he at once 
provided himself with a fresh tooth-brush and a new 
banjo. I think he must have spent the balance in 
chocolates and cigarettes, for when not smoking the 
one he was drinking the other. 

As we passed Champoton I happened to mention 
that it was a notable place in the history of the Con- 
quest. The Spaniards landed there three times in twenty 
years, and were every time repulsed. In the first battle 
they were commanded by Cortez, and I was not sur- 
prised to learn that one of his companions was an an- 
cestor of Don Gomez. 

“ Don Alonzo de la Plata was one of the great con- 
quistador’s most valiant captains , ” he observed, gravely. 
“ He always said my ancestor was a host in himself. 

F 


66 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


If they had all been like him the battle of Carmen 
would have been a great victory/” 

“When did the battle of Carmen take place? I 
don't quite remember the date — do you, Don Gomez ? " 

“ Certainly/' answered my assistant, who never 
owned to ignorance. “ Nine hundred and something. 
I cannot recall the odd figures. In ancient history, 
moreover, I always regard them as superfluous. It is 
quite enough to reckon by centuries.'' 

“ Nine hundred, Don Gomez ! That is a very long 
time ago.'' 

“ It may seem so. But pray remember, Senor 
Doctor, that the De la Platas are one of the oldest 
families in Spain." 

After this there was nothing more to he said. The 
antiquity of a man's family, one of whose ancestors 
fought under Cortez six hundred years before Cortez 
was born, and who counted time by centuries, was clearly 
beyond discussion. 

The Usamacinta enters the Gulf of Mexico by 
several channels, the largest of which, the Rio Palizada, 
flows into the Lagoon of Terminos. The name (con- 
fines) is significant. When the Spanish navigators got 
there they thought they had reached the confines of the 
continent, and, though Cortez conquered Mexico, neither 
he nor his followers ever went much further on this 
side than Tobasco and the Tumbula mountains. 

At the northern extremity of the lake lie the 
island and town of Carmen, where we exchange our 


THE FIRST ARROW. 


67 


sailing-boat for a craft of smaller dimensions, known 
as a cayuca, which is simply the hollowed trunk of a 
tree, and begin our ascent of the great river. And a 
slow business it proves, the stream being too swift to 
admit of rowing ; so there is nothing for it but pulling, 
with the help, when the wind is fair, of a sail. 

We are now in the tierra caliente , and Nature 
reigns supreme. Great willows with trailing branches, 
gigantic bamboos, beautiful sedges, aquatic palm-trees 
with slender stems, beautiful sedges with trailing 
branches, bend over the fast-flowing and meandering 
river. The water swarms with fish. Birds of brilliant 
plumage perch on the boughs, and wing their flight 
over the tree-tops. The aramus delights the ear with 
his ringing voice; gorgeous butterflies and richly- 
liued humming-birds hover in the heated air; the 
falcon, uttering piercing shrieks, plunges suddenly into 
the water, soars skyward with his prey, and whirls 
higher and higher until he is lost to sight. But as 
if in rebuke of the vain theory that the world was 
created specially for man, here, where animal and veget- 
able life is so intense and abundant, the human race 
is unable to thrive — can hardly even exist. The air 
reeks with miasma ; the winged fiends of the forest 
make life a torment and repose impossible. The few 
dwellers in this glorious garden of Nature are puny in 
body, poor in physique, and nerveless in spirit. Suf- 
fering from the most horrible skin diseases, disfigured 
by goitre and elephantiasis, eaten up with jiggers, 
f 2 


68 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


tormented with boils, devoured by mosquitoes, and deci- 
mated by fevers, the wonder is that they do not all 
utterly perish. 

I asked Don Gomez what he thought of the 
country. 

“ It is heaven to look at,” he said, “ but — some- 
thing quite different to live in.” 

And most people, I think, would be disposed to 
concur in the Spaniard's verdict. Yet for all that I 
enjoyed my first experience of the Usamacinta. The 
scenery was so superb, the novelty so intense, the 
idea that I was travelling towards the Unknown — that 
every moment brought me nearer to that land of mys- 
tery which I had resolved either to see or die — all 
this so excited my imagination and occupied my 
thoughts, that I cared as little for the cockroaches that 
crawled over us by day as for the mosquitoes that 
preyed on us by night. 

Noon was my time of repose. It was then, and 
only then, that the birds ceased their singing, that 
the myriad noises of the forest were hushed, the leaves 
drooped, and the breeze died away. Leaning back in 
the cayuca , under the shade of overhanging branches 
and bending flowers, I would lazily watch the trees 
and savannas float before my half-closed eyes, fancy for 
a moment that it was all an hallucination, and then 
drop off into a deep and dreamless slumber. 

At length, after much labour and many days' pull- 
ing — for at night we always lay to and camped out— 


THE FIRST ARROW. 


69 


we reached our destination, the rapids of the Usama- 
cinta. Further we could not go, for several good and 
sufficient reasons : the rapids bar the river to naviga- 
tion, unconquered Indians hold the country beyond, 
and it was at this point we had to begin our land jour- 
ney to Flores, where I hoped to meet Wildfell. All 
the same, I resolved to go as far as possible, and 
with some difficulty prevailed on our boatmen to take 
me and Don Gomez to the foot of the rapids, where 
the Usamacinta, after cleaving a passage through the 
sierras, makes an abrupt bend. At a point where all 
issue seems closed, and the stream looks as if it were 
pouring out of the mountain side, a sudden turn reveals 
the gap towards which it is rolling in a sheet of white 
foam from the heights above. The farther we go the 
narrower becomes the stream. Imprisoned between tall 
grey rocks, rising sheer from the water's edge, it re- 
minded me of the grand scene near the Fort de l'Ecluse, 
where the “ arrowy Rhone '' rushes through the gorges 
of Savoy towards the plains of France. 

I wanted to go still farther, for as yet we were in 
comparatively smooth water, and I was urging the men 
to increased exertion, when I heard a shout of fear, 
the cayuca whirled suddenly round, and I narrowly 
escaped being thrown into the water. 

An arrow, shot by an invisible hand, had grazed the 
steersman's arm, and was quivering in the side of the 
boat. 

After this it would have been impossible, even if 


70 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


it had been wise, to push on ; so I told the men to take 
us back to the little bay where we had left Pedro and 
our baggage, and where I meant to pass the night. 

As I lay in my hammock, under the branches of a 
mighty tree — the rush of the river, the howling of 
monkeys, and the cries of night birds in my ears — I 
pondered long and deeply over the incident which had 
just come to pass. The Lacandones, or Manches, or 
Tolishes, or whoever they might be, evidently guarded 
well this avenue into their domain. It was clearly 
impossible to attain my object by sailing up the Usa- 
macinta. And yet I had every reason to believe that 
on or near this stream, or one of its affluents, the 
Phantom City must be sought. 


71 


CHAPTER VIII. 

MY NEW RECRUITS. 

At a village near the falls I succeeded in hiring, not 
without difficulty, two horses and two mules for the 
journey to Peten. The horses were for Don Gomez and 
myself, the mules for the baggage, the amount of 
which I had increased both at Campeachy and Car- 
men. Pedro preferred to walk. I also engaged three 
arrieros, or muleteers — lithe little fellows, as hardy as 
alligators and as active as cats. 

We were now at the foot of the sierras, and in a 
much less relaxing climate than that of the humid plains 
of Tobasco — a fact to which the improved condition of 
the natives was no doubt due. Yet the vegetation was 
as luxuriant as ever, and I found riding anything but 
a delight. Travellers being few and far between, the 
tracks they made were speedily obliterated. Even a 
macadamised street, if left to itself, would soon be over- 
grown, and a mere path through the forest disappears in 
a few weeks. Wayfarers in these wilds must be prepared 
to act on occasion as their own roadmakers, and my 
arrieros had often to go on before, literally hewing a 
path with their machetes. As for the horses — bits being 
unknown in this part of Central America — they went 


72 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


pretty much, as they chose, naturally taking the path 
they liked best, without regard for the convenience 
of their riders, heedless alike of projecting branches, 
which threatened us with the fate of Absalom, and of 
the sharp-thorned briers which tear the flesh like iron 
hooks. We had to be continually on the watch, and 
dodge these dangers as best we could, now dropping our 
heads below the horses* necks, now leaning back on the 
cruppers, sometimes even slipping off behind. 

After we had been en route a few days, Gomez ob- 
served that he had become so accomplished a horseman 
that he thought, when he got back to Spain, he should 
join a circus. 

“ A De la Plata join a circus ! ** 

“ You forget, Senor Doctor/* he answered with 
great dignity, “you forget that while a De la Plata 
can never degrade himself by honest work, he always 
adds lustre to any profession which it may please him to 
adopt.** 

Considering the character of the country, and the 
difficulties of the way, we probably got on as well 
as could be expected ; but it was thirteen days after 
leaving the rapids of the Usamacinta before we reached 
the first village in the district of Peten. Late one 
sunny afternoon we emerged from the forest, and found 
ourselves close to an azure lake, in the middle of which 
a small picturesque island rose in a gentle ascent from 
the water*s edge. Its summit was crowned with a 
church and a grove of cocoa - trees, and along the 


My new recruits. 


73 


shore and on the hill-side clustered public buildings 
and private dwellings, most of the latter of a very- 
poor sort, but probably quite sufficient for the modest 
needs of the inhabitants and the exigencies of the 
climate. 

The lake was Itza, the village, Flores, where I had 
agreed to meet Wildfell, and quite expected to find him. 
I lost no time in seeking out the corregidor of the 
place, and inquiring if any strangers had arrived from 
the coast during the last few days. 

“ Certainly not, nor during the last few weeks, nor, 
I might truthfully say, during the last few months. 
Strangers seldom honour us with their presence here 
at Flores, Senor Don.” 

This was not pleasant news. More than a month 
had passed since I left Campeachy, and I began to fear 
that Wildfell had either changed his mind or lost his 
way. But as he might not have been able to start as 
soon as he anticipated, and his help would be invalu- 
able, I decided to wait for him until his coming was 
past hoping for. 

The corregidor — a fat, smiling, genial, and slightly 
pompous old gentleman — treated me with the most dis- 
tinguished consideration, found me lodgings, and, in 
the old Spanish fashion, placed himself and everything 
he had at my disposal. His local pride was gratified 
by my visit, which it pleased him to think was due 
entirely to the attractions of Peten ; and when I men- 
tioned that I expected every moment the arrival of an 


74 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


American del Norte, from Campeachy, the old fellow 
was quite in ecstasies. 

“ I will have a look-out kept for him/' he exclaimed. 
“ Your friend shall be received with every honour due 
to so distinguished a visitor. I regret infinitely, Senor 
Don Carlyon, that, owing to my not being informed of 
your approach, I was unable to give you the reception 
which, in view of the friendly relations existing between 
our respective countries and my position as corregidor 
of the district, you had a right to expect. Hagame 
Usted el favor (do me the extreme favour) to accept the 
will for the deed." 

Which I did, of course, with many thanks for the 
honour I had missed and the hospitality I had received. 

The old man was as good as his word. Every morn- 
ing he sent out an Indian runner on the trail by which 
Wildfell was expected to come, with orders to return 
full speed whenever he caught sight of an estranero . 
On the third day after my arrival I was roused from 
my usual siesta by the corregidor himself, who told me, 
with many expressions of satisfaction, that the runner 
had just come in with the news that a party of horse- 
men and arrieros were crossing the savannas, a few 
miles from Flores, and at the rate they were travelling 
would probably arrive in an hour. 

“They are doubtless your friends the Americanos 
del Norte ," he added. 

“ Not a doubt of it," I answered, wondering how 
many recruits Wildfell was bringing me. “ If you will 


MY NEW RECRUITS. 


75 


have the goodness to get me a horse I will go and 
meet them/' 

“ With infinite pleasure, Senor Don Doctor, and 
I, on my part, will prepare for them a fitting recep- 
tion ” 

The steed was brought. I crossed the lake in a 
boat, and set out to meet the travellers, who I tried 
to feel sure were- Wildfell and his people. Yet they 
might not be, and I prepared myself for a possible dis- 
appointment. But I had not gone far when my doubts 
disappeared. That tall man on the little horse could 
be none other than the American. Who the others 
were I could form no idea. There seemed to be at 
least half-a-dozen mounted men, and twice as many 
arrieros on foot. 

“ Well, we are here at last,” exclaimed Wildfell, 
reining up and giving me his hand. “I suppose this 
is Flores ? Anyhow, judging from the quantity of 
flowers, it ought to be. Why, the savannas down below 
there are carpeted with them. And don’t they smell 
sweet ! This beats a scent-store any day.” 

“ That’s vanilla. Those are vanilla beans lying 
about there. I hope you have had a pleasant journey?’'’ 

“ Well, I cannot say that we have. What with 
chopping down trees, jumping over logs, scrambling 
through bramble- bushes, climbing up precipices, slip- 
ping down mountains, and rafting over rivers, and one 
thing and another, it is about the unpleasantest jour- 
ney I ever undertook. We’ve had a shocking bad time, 


76 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


that's a fact. Why, we had to wait in one place nearly 
a week before we could get over a river ! It was too 
deep for fording and too swift for swimming or raft- 
ing. If it had not gone down we should have been 
there yet. I'll tell you what it is, Doctor Carlyon : if 
the country before us is as primeval as that behind us, 
we shall be as long in reaching this Phantom City of 
yours as the Children of Israel were in reaching the 
Promised Land. However, in for a penny in for a 
pound. I said I would go with you, and go I will. 
But let me introduce you to my friend Mr. Ferdinando. 
He means to go too, and I am sure will prove a valu- 
able ally. 

Here Mr. Ferdinando and I shook hands, and said 
how delighted we were to make each other's acquaint- 
ance. He was almost as big a man as Wildfell him- 
self; middle-aged, swart-skinned, and black-eyed, and 
but for an ugly scar which stretched from the root of 
his nose to the corner of his mouth, a face pitted with 
small-pox, and a something peculiar about one of his 
eyes, he might have been not ill-looking. I learnt 
afterwards, as I supposed at the time, that the pecu- 
liarity arose from the eye in question being of glass; 
and when Mr. Ferdinando raised his hat it was evident 
that he wore a wig. But the sparseness of hair upon 
his skull was much more than atoned for by the quan- 
tity that adorned his chin and cheeks. His moustaches 
were of portentous length, and a cascade of black 
beard fell nearly to his waist. 


MY NEW RECRUITS. 


77 


Altogether Mr. Ferdinando was a gentleman of very 
distingue appearance. 

" I picked him up at Campeachy after you left/' 
continued Wildfell, sotto voce, as we rode side by side 
towards Flores. “ His name sounds Spanish, and his 
looks are foreign ; but he is an American citizen, raised 
in the state of Florida, and just the man you want. 
Seen a good deal of Indian fighting, served in the 
Seminole war — that is where he got that scratch on his 
face — and in spite of his game eye, he could shoot an 
apple off your head at a hundred yards." 

“ I should not like to let him try. What was the 
inducement ? " 

“ For him to join us, you mean ? " 

“ Yes." 

“ Fifty dollars down, and a promise of more when 
the business is put through. Not much, seeing that he 
has to risk his life. But he is a born adventurer, and 
has an idea that, even if we don't reach the Phantom 
City, we shall have a good time. He thinks there 
is no end of gold in the country." 

“ And who are those two fellows on the mules ? " 

“ Guatemala mestizos (half-breeds) . They say they 
served with General Mendoza in the last civil war, and 
know the Indian country. They are likely chaps, and 
I dare say will go with us. Both are called Jose (pro- 
nounced Ho-say), so, to prevent confusion, I have chris- 
tened one Boss and the other Hoss. Him with the 
squint is Hoss ; and you can always tell Boss by his 


78 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


being 1 short of an ear — he lost it in a rough-and-tumble 
with a jaguar.” 

I began to think that Mr. Wildfell had brought me 
some queer recruits, and I asked myself, not without 
misgiving, what the Children of Light would think of 
them. 

By the time we reached the lake the entire popula- 
tion of the village had assembled on the shore. And 
very picturesque they looked, especially the girls, some 
of whom, despite the duskiness of their complexions, 
were really good-looking ; and all having fine flashing 
black eyes and shapely forms, none could be called 
ugly. A chemise of thin cotton stuff, trimmed with 
lace, and a simple muslin skirt of some bright colour, 
constitute the rather scanty, yet graceful, costume of 
a Flores senorita. The hair, always luxuriant and 
beautiful, and plaited with gay ribbons, hangs down 
the back. A crescent-shaped comb glitters on the top 
of the head, and a necklace of pearls and small gold coin 
completes the adornment of the dark-eyed daughters of 
Peten. 

The men — armed to the teeth in honour of the occa- 
sion, with pistols and carbines of ancient date — though 
wearing only trousers and shirts and broad-brimmed 
sombreros, looked also picturesque and slightly savage. 

The corregidor was a sight to see. His white 
trousers, which seemed to have shrunk in the washing, 
left uncovered several inches of a pair of fat and hairy 
legs, stockings being unknown luxuries in the district 


MY NEW RECRUITS. 


79 


of Peten. Vest he had none, but he had contrived 
to struggle into an old, richly-laced, and profusely 
brass-buttoned uniform coat a world too little for him ; 
on his head was a cocked hat of the fashion of the last- 
century, and he had girded him with a sword big 
enough to have been wielded by the immortal Cortez at 
the battle of Champoton. 

After making a little high-flown speech, in which 
he expressed his deep sense of the honour of our visit, 
and the hope that our respective countries would re- 
main at peace for all time, the corregidor rather startled 
us by calling out “ Fire ! ” Whereupon the men dis- 
charged their muskets, and a youth, whom we had not 
previously noticed, began to beat a big drum with a 
vigour that elicited general applause. 

“ W ell,” said Wildfell, “ I've seen a good many things ; 
but this is the first time I've seen a drummer with nothing 
in the world on but his drum and a straw hat.” 

It was true ; the youth had nothing else on. 

“ But I say,” he added as the performer turned 
round, t( this won’t do at all, you know. It isn't decent. 
He should have a drum on behind as well. Just suggest 
that to the corregidor , will you ? But perhaps you had 
better not. He means no ill, and it might perhaps 
hurt his feelings.” 

I thought so too, and as nearly all the lads in the 
place were attired with equal simplicity, barring the 
drum, I am afraid that even had the suggestion been 
made it would not have led to any practical result. 


80 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


In the evening the corregidor gave a tertulia , which 
proved to be a delightful evening entertainment. The 
ladies sang charming little songs to their own accompani- 
ment on the guitar. Then the marimbas struck up, and 
the fun began in real earnest. Our host insisted that 
Wildfell and myself should “ tread, a measure/' and pro- 
vided us with two lovely little partners, and we found 
ourselves dancing a fandango before we knew what we 
were about. Then rum was served round, the senoritas 
sipping it with as much unconcern as English ladies 
sip champagne at an evening party. 

The men more than sipped, and I fear our friend 
the corregidor drank more than was good for him. At 
any rate he had a terrible headache next morning, and 
I gave him an effervescing draught, for which he was 
so grateful that he offered, if I would consent to stay 
at Elores for good, to adopt me as his son and make 
me his heir. 


81 


CHAPTER IX. 

OVER THE MOUNTAINS. 

Three days later we set out. Besides Wildfell, his 
three recruits, Don Gomez, and Pedro, I had six arrieros , 
whom I intended to take with me as far as they were 
willing to go and it was possible for the horses and 
mules to travel. I did not disclose, even to the corregi- 
dor , the object of our journey, merely saying that we were 
going further into the interior ; but he took our parting 
so much to heart that I promised, if it were possible, 
to look him up on my way back, and, having more 
dollars and doubloons with me than I was likely to 
require, I left part of them in his hands, asking him, if 
he did not hear from me within a year and a day, to 
remit the amount to my bankers in Merida. 

He seemed to consider this an excellent joke, and 
regarded it as a pledge of our speedy return. 

“ I shall see you again in three months,” he said, as 
we shook hands at parting. 

I smiled incredulously, for, whatever else might be- 
fall me, I felt sure that I should never see Flores again. 

My objective point was the region between the 
rivers Usamacinta and Lacandone, for there, I thought, 
I was most likely to find the Phantom City. But, as 
Q 


82 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the maps of this part of the country are purely conjec- 
tural, and I knew nothing of its physical characteristics, 
I should, in a great measure, have to grope my way and 
leave much to Providence. I only knew that if I bore 
sou'-west by south, and crossed the Cordilleras, which 
stretch in an irregular line from the confines of British 
Honduras to the ruins of Palenque, I should be sure, 
sooner or later, to strike the great river. I intended to 
follow the regular tracks, such as they were, as long as 
I could. After that, we should have to direct our 
course by the compass ; and, as I had brought with me a 
snuffbox sextant, a first-class chronometer watch, and a 
nautical almanack, I could always, by taking lunar and 
solar observations, ascertain our position within a mile 
or two. 

Nothing could well be more agreeable than the first 
part of our new journey. The country was elevated and 
undulating, the track broad and firm ; blue hills were 
visible in the distance ; instead of struggling through the 
dense forests of the tierra caliente , we rode gaily through 
groves of park-like trees, thronged with birds, and over 
ground enamelled with richly-hued sweet - smelling 
flowers. We generally passed the night at some haci- 
enda, where we were always warmly welcomed, or in the 
neighbourhood of a village where we could obtain such 
supplies as we required. At other times we slung our 
hammocks on the branches of a tree, and slept a la belle 
etoile . Paisans (not pheasants), deer, wild pig, and 
monkeys, being plentiful, we had no difficulty in 


OYER THE MOUNTAINS. 


83 


replenishing our larder, and bananas and yams seldom 
failing, we fared sumptuously every day ; while living 
continually in the open air, and, being ever on the move, 
we were all in splendid health and exuberant spirits. 

It was only when we reached the foot of the Cordil- 
leras that our difficulties began. No more haciendas, 
no more villages, and as neither guides nor information 
were obtainable — for the region we were now in was un- 
peopled and had never been explored — we had to find our 
way as best we could; now cutting a path through 
dense jungle, now going miles round to avoid a bar- 
ranca, or dragging our four-footed companions up some 
stony ravine. At last we had to leave them behind, for, 
clever as Central American horses and mules are, they 
cannot climb perpendicular heights. So we sent them 
and the arrieros back, all save two of the latter, whom 
I persuaded to go with us. I did not expect them to 
fight much, if it came to that ; but we had a good many 
things to carry : hammocks, patates (a sort of mat which 
serves the double purpose of an umbrella and a shelter 
tent), changes of clothing, arms and ammunition, and a 
supply of food — for we could not count on always find- 
ing a sufficiency of game — and without their help we 
should have been decidedly overweighted. Yet I bit- 
terly regretted afterwards that we did take them. The 
others were all volunteers, but these poor little tame 
Indians, as Wildfell called them, went reluctantly, in- 
duced by promises of a reward which they were destined 
never to receive. 

G 2 


84 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Pedro proved a perfect treasure. He became much 
attached to me, and, though I offered him the chance, 
he positively refused to return with the arrieros. He 
had spent all his life in the forest, was as keen of vision 
as a hawk, could read signs, and knew where to look for 
water, fruit trees, and edible roots. No journey was 
too long for him, no burden too heavy, and, though he 
knew nothing of the country we were in, he had picked 
up odds and ends of information about the wild Indians 
which I found very useful. He told me, among other 
things, that the use of poisoned arrows was confined to 
the Lacandones on the lower Usamacinta ; and that the 
Choles, with whom we should most probably come first 
in contact, fought in the fashion of their forefathers, 
with huge bows and ordinary arrows, shields, spears, 
and large wooden swords edged with flints. They 
might have a few guns, captured in forays, or obtained 
from Christianised Indians, but, in the absence of a 
regular supply of powder, these weapons could not be of 
much use to them. Armed as we were we should be 
more than a match for any wandering parties of braves 
we might casually meet, and, unless our presence in the 
country became known through our own imprudence, we 
could not well be taken unawares. Except in over- 
whelming numbers, the aborigines were not likely to 
face us in open fight. Surprise was our greatest danger. 
It behoved us, therefore, to take every precaution, keep 
a sharp look-out, kindle no fires save in places where 
the smoke could not be seen make no more noise than 


OYER THE MOUNTAINS. 


85 


we could help, and if we saw any Indian sign turn 
another way. 

I left the reading of signs to Pedro ; but I did not 
fail to impress on my companions the necessity of 
following his advice — whatever we might think about 
his facts. As to this all agreed, and for a while were as 
cautious as I could desire ; but as time went on and 
we saw neither Indians, nor signs of any, caution was 
gradually relaxed. 

Ferdinando and the mestizos gave me much trouble 
and anxiety. They evidently thought that the Phantom 
City was a mere pretext, and that my real object was 
to look for gold. Ferdinando, having been a digger in 
California, possessed some knowledge of mining, and 
whenever we made a halt he would go off on a private 
exploring expedition of his own, taking with him Hoss 
and Boss, who would fire their rifles, whatever I said, 
thereby adding to our risk and wasting ammunition 
which we had no means of replacing. Yet I could not 
be very severe with them, for the journey over the Cor- 
dilleras was extremely trying, and it was as much as I 
could do to keep up their courage and persuade them to 
go on. We had to crawl up gullies on our hands and 
knees, and make Pedro and the arrieros climb rocks, 
monkey fashion, and help us up afterwards with ropes. 
We had often to retrace our steps for miles, and travel 
days together without advancing a mile, in order to 
double some impassable barranca or avoid some unford- 
able mountain stream. 


86 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Game failed us too, and if it had not been for tbe toto - 
poste — roasted maize paste — which at Pedro’s suggestion 
we had brought with us, we should have been in very 
evil case — perhaps have perished miserably of hunger. It 
is not very luxurious food this totoposte — it lacks variety; 
yet Indians, when on a journey, eat little else, and, 
as it is easily carried and eminently nutritious, I do not 
think we could have taken anything more suitable. But 
it was a great change from faisan and monkey, and 
Ferdinando and Hoss and Boss grumbled continually, 
and became very discontented. If it had not been for 
fear of losing their way and coming to grief, I feel sure 
they would have deserted us. Wildfell, on the other 
hand, took everything with philosophical indifference, 
never allowing himself to be either flurried or put out 
of temper ; and Gomez, besides being naturally high- 
spirited, was too proud to complain. Often of an even- 
ing, when we were lying in our hammocks or stretched 
on the ground, he would play an air on his banjo and 
sing us some of his Spanish love-songs. The music was 
not of a very high quality perhaps, but it pleased the 
arrieros and Hoss and Boss immensely, and helped to 
pass the time when we were too weary to talk and too 
tired to sleep. 

At length, after many disappointments — for we had 
several times reached heights which seemed the loftiest, 
only to find, when we got thither, that there were others 
still higher — we won the topmost point of the Cordil- 
leras, and began to go downhill. It was easier, though 


OVEll THE MOUNTAINS. 


87 


not much, than going up ; but the country improved as 
we descended, and as we bagged a deer and a few head 
of game our spirits improved considerably, and we began 
to speculate as to what we should find further on. 

Still no Choles, nor sign of them, nor of any 
human presence whatsoever. 

“ I'll tell you what it is, Doctor Carlyon," said 
Wildfell one day about this time, “ I begin to think 
those Indians are humbugs. We are like Itobinson 
Crusoe, lords of all we survey." 

I began to think so too, and though Pedro shook 
his head and looked grave, we grew very careless — 
laughed and shouted, and shot, and cooked our game 
at big fires, as if we knew for a fact that there were no 
Indians within a hundred miles of us. 

Yet there were certain precautions which we did not 
relax, and which became a part of the daily routine 
of our lives. We never camped at night or rested 
during the day until Pedro had carefully surveyed the 
ground and pronounced it safe and free from “ sign." 
When we were on the march he and the arrieros went 
always some score or two yards ahead, keeping a sharp 
look-out for any traces that might indicate the vicinity 
of Indians or other dangerous animals. Next came 
Wildfell and myself, loaded rifles slung over our 
shoulders, and machetes by our side. Then followed 
Hoss and Boss, similarly armed, Ferdinando and Gomez 
bringing up the rear. This order was necessarily 
varied according to the character of the country. In 


88 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


many places we had to march in single file, but we kept 
to it as far as possible. Each man, moreover, had his 
appointed duty in the preparation of our bivouacs, and 
each carried a pack, but the bulk of our belongings was 
borne on the shoulders of Pedro and the arrieros. 

We must have presented a strange spectacle — or 
should have done, if there had been anybody to look at 
us — the three stout heavily-laden little Indians in front, 
naked to the waist, missing nothing within the range of 
their vision, often, with machetes in hand, cutting away 
vines, thorns, and other impediments to locomotion, as 
they walked; we four whites, all tall men, our faces 
burnt black-red, scarred with wounds from the prickly 
bejucos , and swollen with mosquito bites, wearing red 
flannel shirts, broad-brimmed straw hats, and ragged 
trousers the colour of which was generally that of the 
ground we were travelling over, and the two mestizos, 
undersized and ill-favoured, similarly attired, but per- 
haps slightly more ragged. As Wildfell said, our own 
mothers would not have known us. 

We had descended, perhaps, two thousand feet from 
the summit of the Cordilleras, and were marching some- 
what in the order described, in fairly open ground — 
although, owing to the bigness of the trees, we could 
not see far ahead — when Pedro stopped suddenly short, 
and, uttering an exclamation, ran hastily forward, then 
stopped again. 

“ Mira ! mira, senores ! ” he shouted, evidently in a 
state of great excitement. 


OYER THE MOUNTAINS. 


89 


In a moment we were by his side. 

“By Jove, Carlyon, there's your Phantom City 
at last ! i3 exclaimed Wildfell. 

We were on the edge of a precipice. Below us 
stretched a thickly- wooded valley in the very heart of 
the mountains, cleft by a brawling stream which de- 
scended in a sheet of foam from one of the neigh- 
bouring hills. In the midst of this amphitheatre uprose 
a great mass of buildings, on which the setting sun 
poured a flood of silvery light. 

I stood like one entranced. Could it indeed be the 
Phantom City ? My heart beat wildly, and my emotion 
was so great that I could hardly adjust the field-glass, 
which I kept always at hand. 

The others, gazing alternately at me and the build- 
ings, awaited my verdict with an emotion hardly less 
than my own. 

I took a long look ; then removed the glass from 
my eyes, and looked again. 

“ Ruins ! nothing but ruins ! 39 and as I spoke my 
heart sank, and every countenance around me fell. 

I saw shattered columns and broken pyramids, vast 
buildings, magnificent even in decay, grander and more 
extensive, as it seemed to me, than all the temples and 
palaces of Uxmal and Ake and Chichen-Itza put to- 
gether ; but all in ruins, and not one sign of life. 

" What an awful sell ! 33 said Wildfell, dolefully. 

“Not at all/' I answered, with affected cheerful- 
ness, and trying to make the best of it. “A slight 


90 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


disappointment, perhaps; but even in disappointment 
there is encouragement. That valley was once inhabited 
— the home of a civilised community. Those buildings 
were never raised by savages. The Phantom City 
cannot be far off. Next to discovering it, this find is 
the best thing that could have happened/’ 

“ There should be treasure in those ruins,” put in 
Ferdinando, eagerly. “ I'll be bound they have never 
been explored. Shall we make for them at once ? ” 

“ No,” I said, coldly; “it is too late, they are further 
off than they look, and there may be Indians there, 
though I cannot see them. We must wait until morn- 
ing, and go to work very cautiously, or we shall, may-be, 
fall into a trap.” 

So, after Pedro and the arrieros had surveyed the 
ground, we chose a site for our bivouac, unpacked, 
lighted a fire in a secluded spot, and made our pre- 
parations for the night. 

As the sun went down I took “ a departure,” and, 
when the moon rose, “ a lunar,” in order to determine 
our position, which I marked on the map I had brought 
with me. I also took the bearings of the ruins, as once 
in the valley we should be unable to see over the tree- 
tops, and might easily, going by the light of Nature, 
even with the help of Pedro’s woodcraft, make a bad 
shot. 


91 


CHAPTER X. 


LOST. 

It took us some time to find a way down tlie precipice, 
but, this part of our task accomplished, we had little 
difficulty in reaching the ruins. The trees, though of 
tremendous height, were not very close together ; and 
from their appearance and the character of the flora, the 
frequency of artificial mounds, and other indications, I 
felt certain that we were not in a primeval forest — 
that the valley had once been cleared and cultivated. 

We went forward with extreme caution, Pedro and the 
arr zeros in front, as usual, the rest of us following, with 
our rifles loaded and unslung, ready for any emergency 
that might arise. But nothing happened. Pedro, quest 
as he might, could detect no suspicious sign : the place 
was as deserted as it looked. 

The ruins stood on a mound, whether wholly natural 
or artificial it was impossible to say, and were reached 
by an immense flight of steps, at least fifty yards long. 
Mounting these with some difficulty — for they were 
broken and covered with vegetation — we found ourselves 
on a vast platform or terrace, on which stood a long 
range of shattered and dismantled, yet still gigantic, 
columns, once, probably, the supports of some cyclopean 


92 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


temple or palace. Further on were great houses with 
roofs still almost intact, flowers and plants growing 
all over them, the walls outside richly carved and orna- 
mented with human figures, and inside bearing traces 
of mural paintings and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The 
biggest building of all covered, as I calculated, an area 
of more than four thousand square yards ; there was a 
square pyramidal tower, some forty feet high, out of 
which grew a huge tree at least a hundred feet higher ; 
and as the ruins spread far into the forest, we were 
evidently on the site of a once-extensive town, which 
had possibly been the capital of a populous and powerful 
state. 

“ Gad ! " exclaimed Wildfell, “this may be the 
Phantom City after all. It looks ghostly enough for 
anything ." 

The same thought had struck me. Was it not 
conceivable that the legend might have survived, though 
the city had perished; and that Dominick's cura and 
others, catching a glimpse of these ruins from the 
highest of yonder mountains, had created the shining 
walls, the lake, the island, and the cultivated fields, by 
the force of their own imaginations ? 

“ I do not think so/' was my answer, after a 
moment's reflection. “This place has been dead and 
buried, hidden from human ken, for centuries. The 
legend, however old, still lives, and is always receiving 
new confirmation. The tame Indians believe in it most 
devoutly — ask Pedro and the arrieros — and they are 


LOST. 


93 


always more or less in communication with their uncon- 
quered brethren. The legend relates to an existing, 
inhabited, aboriginal city, which this is certainly not.” 

“ Carried unanimously. You talk like a book, 
Doctor. You are for going further, then ? ” 

“ Undoubtedly. We are a long way from the 
Phantom City yet, I fear.” 

“ So do I,” returned Wildfell, grimly ; “ a very 
long way. However, let it be as you say. But had 
we not better stop here a day or two ? It seems to be a 
nice quiet place ; we stand in need of rest, and it will 
be quite a novelty to sleep with a roof over our heads.” 

“ By all means. Pedro and the arrieros shall clear 
out a corner of the palace, and we will sling our ham- 
mocks there, and make ourselves as comfortable as 
circumstances will permit.” 

After giving Pedro his instructions we continued our 
ramble about the ruins, then went to the stream we had 
seen from above — which once on a time must have 
washed the city walls — had a bathe, and came back 
greatly refreshed. 

The Indians had done their work well— lighted a 
fire, improvised a table, fitted up our hammocks, and, 
last but not least, found some bananas and yams, and, 
as Ferdinando was lucky enough to kill a buck close to 
the ruins, we had an unusually luxurious supper. 

But neither the Indians nor the mestizos would on 
any account consent to sleep in the ruins, which, they 
said, were sure to be haunted, like all such places, by 


94 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the spirits of their former inhabitants, and all except 
Pedro, whom I persuaded to stay with us, slung their 
hammocks outside, under the trees. 

Night brought with it the explanation of these 
superstitious fears. I no longer wondered that the ruins 
were deserted, and that the Indians refused to remain 
within their walls after sunset. I experienced a few 
qualms myself; so, I believe, did Wildfell ; and, judging 
by Gomez’s invocations of his patron saint and Ferdi- 
nando’s oaths, our companions must have been in a state 
of mortal terror. As for Pedro, he stayed where he 
was, simply because he was too frightened even to run 
away. 

The palace appeared to be enchanted. As the moon- 
beams struggled faintly through the crevices in the 
walls, the broken vine-covered columns took all sorts of 
weird and fantastic shapes ; tiny winged lamps seemed 
to float in the air, first like fiery sparks, then with a 
fugitive brightness which lost itself in a train of light. 
At the same time, undefinable sounds proceeded from 
all parts of the wood — not awesome like the cries of 
nocturnal birds and the roar of wild beasts, but soft 
and sweet like the warbling of birds, and as melodious 
and mysterious as the music of a heavenly choir. But 
almost every moment the sounds varied. Now they 
were as the tinklings of a silver bell or a plaintive 
voice calling in the distance, then as the rustling of 
leaves in a rising storm, next as sighs or sobs that 
seemed to come from the roof of the palace. Again, 


LOST. 


95 


they were like a thousand gentle whisperings, a thousand 
little cadences, as if the genii of the ruins, or the spirits 
of their former possessors, were chanting songs of praise 
and celebrating in a universal concert the wonders of 
Nature and the magnificence of the night. 

But no harm came of it all ; none of the unseen 
songsters gave other token of their presence ; the sounds 
which at first so much alarmed lulled us at last to 
sleep, and when we awoke in the morning all was bright 
and cheerful. The old palace was flooded with sunshine, 
humming-birds flew among the vines and circled round 
the columns, green and purple dragon-flies darted about 
in rapid and capricious flight, the woodpecker began his 
ringing strokes on the trunks of decaying trees, and the 
whole forest became full of the sights and sounds of life 
and motion. 

“ What do you think of it all — queer, wasn't it?" 
said the American, as he rolled lazily out of his ham- 
mock. “ Weren't you scared? I know I was, at 
first. Who are they — those musicians, I mean ? And 
what could those lights be ? " 

“ Well, I am by no means sure. But if you ask my 
candid opinion, I should say that the lights were fire- 
flies, and the singers either frogs or pigeons, or both." 

i( Come, now, that won't wash. Frogs can sing, I 
know, but they cannot make such a heavenly concert as 
we heard last night. Say you don't know, like a man." 
“ Well, if it was not frogs, I don't know." 

This closed the discussion for the time, and though 


96 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


it was re-opened afterwards, and we listened and watched 
night after night, we never succeeded in clearing up the 
mystery. 

While Wildfell and I explored the ruins, or rambled 
in the forest, Ferdinando and the mestizos were hunting 
after hidden treasure, and to my great surprise they 
made a big find. By clearing away a quantity of 
rubbish they uncovered the entrance to the vaults under- 
neath the palace, where they discovered a sort of cave or 
grotto, which seemed to have been the strong room of 
its previous owners. It contained nothing in the 
shape of coin, but was literally full of gold and silver 
vessels and ornaments, gold-hilted swords, golden hel- 
mets, and pates of the precious metals, which appeared 
to have formed part of suits of armour. 

The excitement produced by this discovery, though 
natural, was unfortunate. All, even Wildfell, were 
eager to make further explorations, and set to work 
digging and searching with as much energy as if 
there were a mint hard by where they could convert 
their finds into current coin without trouble, and a bank 
in which they could lodge the proceeds to their credit. 

“ What will you do with these things ? J * I asked. 
“ You cannot take them with you/' 

“ We will try," said Ferdinando. a We can each 
carry something, and it is worth a little trouble to be 
rich for life." 

Argument was useless, nobody would listen to me. 
Except Pedro, who looked very grave, and said that if 


LOST. 


97 


we stayed much longer the Choles would certainly he 
upon us, everybody seemed to have gone mad. They 
were grubbing (with sticks and rudely-fashioned wooden 
spades) and scratching and rooting about the ruins from 
morning till night. I spoke of danger, urged the object 
of our expedition ; I begged of them to pack up all the 
gold they thought they could carry, and let us be gone. 

I might as well have spoken to the wind. For all 
that appeared to the contrary, they had resolved to stay 
where they were for the term of their natural lives, and 
I was beginning to think that I should have to go in 
search of the Phantom City alone, when an incident 
occurred that left me no option. 

As it happens, I am somewhat of an ornithologist, 
and I had long been trying to “ spot/' and, if possible, 
capture a bird whose richly musical notes were always 
heard at daybreak — seldom at any other time — when 
one morning, on rising from my hammock, and strolling 
into the forest, I thought I saw him on the branch of a tree. 
After listening a few minutes, to make sure that it was 
the one I wanted, I fetched my gun. When I got back 
the bird had flown, but as I could still hear him I fol- 
lowed in the direction of the sound, and as often as he 
changed his position I kept on following, in my eager- 
ness taking little heed which way I went. In the end, 
after an hour’s chase, I lost him, and being reminded 
by certain internal sensations that I had not broken my 
fast, I turned round, and shaped my course, as I sup- 
posed, for the ruins. 

H 


98 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


But though I walked rapidly I seemed to get no 
nearer, and when, on looking at my watch, I found that 
a full hour had passed since I lost the bird, and yet could 
see no sign of the ruins, I knew that I had missed my 
way — that I was lost in the forest. I noticed, too, that 
the character of the ground was more broken, the vege- 
tation different from any*I had seen before. The wood 
was free from undergrowth, too, and immense trees with 
pyramidal trunks overshadowed a multitude of brilliant- 
berried- coffee trees, relics of former cultivation, which I 
saw now for the first time. 

Yes, I was lost ! There could be no mistake about 
it. My first impulse was to curse my own folly and 
imprudence. It was the first time I had ventured far 
into the forest without either blazing trees as a guide to 
my way back, or observing, by my compass, the direc- 
tion I was taking. True, I had my compass in my 
pocket, but as I had not gone straight — might, for any- 
thing I knew, have made a complete circuit — it was of 
no use. Whether I went forward or backward, east, 
west, north, or south, I might be equally wrong. 

What was to be done ? 

After some thought I decided to climb a tree and try 
if I could not get a sight of the ruins. I acted on the 
idea at once — climbed one of the tallest, a very monarch 
of the forest, fully a hundred and fifty feet high, if it was 
a yard. All I could see was an ocean of verdure which 
stretched to the horizon, and seemed limitless. Yet 
the ruins, hidden as they were in the wood, might 


LOST. 


be no more than a mile away ! To see them I should 
have to mount five times as high. But not having 
wings this was out of the question. 

What should I do next ? How extricate myself 
from the scrape into which my heedlessness had brought 
me ? 

The worst thing I could do was to get frightened, 
lose my presence of mind, and act at random. What- 
ever befell I must keep cool. So I descended the tree, 
sat me down at the foot of it, took out my pipe and 
had a smoke. By the time it was finished I had re- 
solved on a fixed plan of action, which I proceeded to 
put into immediate execution. 

I selected the spot where I was as a point of de- 
parture — the centre of a circle as it were — marked it by 
slicing with my machete the bark of the big tree and 
piling at its base a heap of stones. As I had only 
been walking two hours I could not be more than that 
distance from the ruins at the outside. Hence, if I 
walked two hours towards every cardinal point in turn, 
I should be sure to strike the ruins sooner or later; 
for they were so extensive and so near that it would 
not be necessary to attempt the impossible feat of doing 
every point of the compass. To do even the four points, 
reckoning them at four hours apiece (going and return- 
ing), and one at two, would occupy me fully fourteen 
hours, if I never rested a moment, by which time it 
would be long past dark. On the other hand, it was 
quite possible that I might succeed at the first or second 
h 2 


100 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


attempt, to say nothing of the likelihood that Pedro 
or some of the others would come to look for me, in 
which event, even though I should not see them, their 
shouts would give me a clue to their whereabouts. 

So after plucking and eating a few bananas, which 
by reason of their succulence are both food and drink, 
I started on my first trip, walking due south, and 
“ blazing ” a tree every two or three yards as I went 
along. No sign of the palace was visible in that direc- 
tion, and when I got back to my point of departure it 
had gone two o'clock. But as I had not expected any- 
thing better, I was not much disappointed, and began 
my second journey in good spirits, walking fast, so that 
if I failed again I might be back at my starting- place 
before dark. 

I did fail again, and ten minutes after I reached 
the big tree daylight disappeared as suddenly as if a 
veil had been dropped between earth and sun. 

I lay down on the ground, utterly exhausted, for 
the day had been exceedingly hot, and bananas, though 
refreshing, are not very nutritious. There was nothing 
for it but to stay where I was, as walking about in the 
forest when I could not see my hand, much less my 
compass, would have been sheer insanity. I knew that 
between one and two there would be a full moon, when 
I might see my way and try east and west, as I had 
already tried north and south. 

After listening a few minutes, as I had frequently 
done during the day, for the possible shouts of my com- 


LOST. 


101 


panions, I fell fast asleep, despite my efforts to keep 
awake ; for it is not exactly a prudent proceeding* to 
sleep after dark in a wood haunted by wild animals, 
both creeping and four-footed. 

I awoke with a start and a sense of indescribable 
terror. The forest was filled with strange and unearthly 
noises — some like those I had heard in the ruins, 
others still more weird and terrifying. Now a soft and 
gentle cooing, drowned the next minute by long yells 
of anguish, as if somewhere in the depths of the forest 
lost souls were suffering the tortures of the damned; 
then a momentary silence broken by the fierce roar of 
jaguar or puma, and followed by the dismal screech of 
some nocturnal bird of prey. 

I struck a light and looked at my watch. As the 
match flared up for a second I saw a huge frog, as big 
as a kitten, staring at me with stolid eyes, and a 
deadly nahayuca glided past my feet and disappeared in 
the darkness. 

I had still two hours to pass in this pandemonium ! 

Poets prate of the ecstasy of being alone with Nature. 
Let them try a forest on the Cordilleras of Guatemala 
after dark, and see how they like that ! 

It was not the first night by a good many that I had 
passed in a forest, but it was the first I had passed alone 
and without fire. I had never before felt so completely 
cut off from my kind, so utterly lonesome and helpless 
and — there is no use denying it — so much afraid. 
Though in one sense free as the air, I was held by 


102 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


invisible fetters, and as much a prisoner as if I had been 
buried deep in one of the dungeons kept by the Russian 
Czar for the entertainment of his loving subjects. The 
darkness was so dense that I could not walk five yards 
without risk of running foul of some obstacle, tripping 
over a tree-root, or setting my foot on a venomous snake. 
There was danger even in stretching out my hand, and 
I might any moment be pounced on by a jaguar or 
attacked by a drove of the fierce wild peccaries of the 
woods. 

But two hours are not an eternity. The moon rose 
at last, pouring into the glade a flood of golden light, 
only inferior to that of day, and with a sense of thank- 
fulness and relief too deep for words I got up, stretched 
my stiffened limbs, and started straightway on my third 
journey in search of the ruins — making this time for the 
east. 


103 


CHAPTER XI. 

ALONE. 

“ At last ! thank Heaven, at last ! ” I shouted, as, after 
an hour's swift walking, I saw before me one of the 
mounds I had noticed on our arrival at the ruins. 

In my eagerness I began to run, for now I knew my 
way, and had no longer need either to look at my 
compass or blaze trees. A few minutes later I was 
within the precincts of the palace, which I entered by 
one of the many gaps in the walls. I quite expected to 
find my companions up and waiting for me, and to hear 
that a part of the day, at least, had been spent in seek- 
ing me in the forest. But they did not even show a 
light ; all were seemingly fast asleep ; and, hurt and 
mortified by their indifference and neglect, I crept 
silently into my hammock, and so great was my fatigue 
that, despite my vexation, I fell at once into a deep and 
dreamless slumber. 

When I awoke it was full daylight, and knowing 
from the silence of the forest that it must be near noon, 
I saw without surprise that all the hammocks were 
vacant. Wildfell and the others had doubtless got up 
long since, and were now busy with their treasure- 
hunting. 


104 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ Yet surely/' I thought, “ Pedro must be some- 
where about. If all the others have gone mad with 
greed, he at any rate has kept his senses — and I want 
some breakfast. Where is he, I wonder ? Pedro ! 
Pedro ! Hang the fellow ! where can he be ? I sup- 
pose he has forgotten all about me, like the rest. They 
must have made another find, and can think about 
nothing else. I will go and see. I wish we had never 
seen this confounded place. It will he our ruin yet.” 

With that I slipped lazily out of my hammock, 
sauntered slowly to the other end of the palace, and 
picked my way down the great flight of steps at the 
principal entrance, for they were covered with brambles 
and full of holes. 

Strange ! I hear no voices. I see nothing of any 
of them. Where on earth can they be ? 

“ Hallo there ! Pedro ! Gomez ! Where are you ? ” 

By this time I was close to the place which the 
arrieros and mestizos had chosen for their night- 
quarters, and run up, against one of the walls, a sort of 
lean-to shed, roofed with plantain leaves, under which 
they had slung their hammocks. 

As I shouted, two hideous turkey-buzzards rose out 
of the bushes and flew heavily into the forest. 

“ What on earth ? ” 

And a great fear came over me, for I knew that 
these creatures always follow in the track of death. I 
pushed my way through the bushes, and there, before 
the hut, I found more vultures, which flew away as I 


ALONE. 


105 


neared them, and four lifeless bodies — the bodies of 
four men almost denuded of flesh, their faces stripped 
to the bone, and their clothes in tatters. Though the 
poor wretches were disfigured past recognition, I felt 
sure that the remains were those of Hoss and Boss and 
the two arrieros. 

The cause of their death was only too evident. 
They had been surprised and killed by the Chole Indians, 
either just as they rose from their hammocks or as they 
were about to turn in for the night. All had been 
mortally wounded by arrows. One victim had been hit 
in the eye, another in the region of the heart, a third 
in the side, a fourth in the back. 

It was several minutes before I could take my eyes 
from the terrible sight and collect my thoughts. 

Where were the others — Wildfell, Gomez, Ferdi- 
nando, and Pedro ? Had they, too, fallen, like these 
poor fellows, without being able to strike a blow for 
their lives ? They were not in the palace. Could they 
have been surprised while searching for that thrice- 
cursed treasure ? 

Sick with apprehension I hurried to the place where 
they had last been exploring — the foot of the great 
tower. 

Not there ! 

I next made the complete round of the ruins, looking 
everywhere, always with the same result. Then I 
returned to the palace, of which I resolved to make 
a thorough search, feeling sure that it was there, if 


106 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


anywhere, I should find a clue to the mystery. The 
first thing I noticed was that all the arms and nearly 
all the ammunition were missing, so were the patates 
except one (which, lying in a remote corner, had prob- 
ably been overlooked) . On closely examining the floor 
I could detect prints of naked feet, and I picked up an 
arrow which was certainly not there before. It was 
clear that the Choles had been here also. Yet, look as I 
would, I could discover neither trace of blood nor signs 
of a struggle. 

How was this? Were the four whites taken 
prisoners, or had they escaped? Neither supposition 
seemed very probable. It was hard to believe that 
Wildfell, Gomez, and Ferdinando, to say nothing of 
Pedro, would yield without a struggle, and still 
harder to think that they could escape from a horde 
of fleet Indians, who were as much at home in the 
forest as the jaguars that lurked in its recesses and 
the monkeys that swarmed on the branches. Con- 
sidering all these things, I could come to no other 
conclusion than that my unfortunate companions had 
been seized while lying in their hammocks, and over- 
powered and bound before they had time to think of 
resistance. The Choles must have stolen upon them 
literally like thieves in the night. 

But why had they killed Hoss and Boss and the 
arrieros and saved the others alive ? This part of the 
riddle I was unable to read. It would have been just as 
easy for the Indians to capture or kill eight as four. 


ALONE. 


107 


And when had these events happened ? Under 
ordinary circumstances I might have formed a tolerably 
correct idea from an examination of the bodies. But 
they had been so maltreated by the turkey-buzzards 
that there was hardly anything left to examine. Yet 
indications were not entirely wanting. As the victims 
lay so near their night-quarters, and the other four 
were beyond doubt seized in the palace, the time must 
necessarily have been either early in the morning or 
late at night ; and it could not have been night, because, 
as I well knew, the darkness after sunset was too 
intense to permit the savages to take aim with their 
arrows. It must therefore have been morning, and very 
shortly after I went after the bird. I had left them all 
fast asleep; and a few minutes after the arrieros and 
mestizos (always the first to get up) rose, and probably 
before the others awakened, the Choles were upon them. 

That bird had saved my life. 

Just then, however, I did not feel very thankful 
for the boon — I was too much overcome with horror 
and grief, and I bitterly regretted having induced these 
eight men to take part in so desperate an enterprise; 
above all, the arrieros, who had come so reluctantly. 
True, the others, save Pedro, had courted their fate by 
neglecting my warnings, and I was thus in a measure, 
so far as they were concerned, absolved from blame. 
But this consideration, though it might soothe my con- 
science, could not lessen my sorrow. Wildfell, Gomez, 
and Pedro, were good men and true ; we had been so 


108 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


much together, and I had got to know them so well, 
that their loss affected me quite as much as if they 
had been old and long- tried friends. 

Yes, loss, for nothing was more certain than that 
I should never see them again, and I was haunted 
by a terrible fear that the Choles had saved my 
companions alive in order to torture them to death. 
More than once the idea occurred to me of trying to 
make out the trail, and following them. But how could 
I hope to overtake a detachment of Indians familiar with 
the forest, who had more than twenty- four hours* start 
of me, and what could I do if I did overtake them ? 

All daylong I wandered aimlessly and dejected about 
the ruins, and it was only when night fell and I lay down 
in my hammock that I became sufficiently composed 
to look my position fairly in the face, and decide what 
course it behoved me to adopt. 

One thing was quite clear — I must make a move. 
The Choles might come back, and, whether they did or 
not, nothing was to be gained by remaining one moment 
longer in these ill-omened ruins. But whither should I 
go? Back again by 'the road I had come ! No! A 
thousand times no ! The very fact that my enterprise 
had entailed so much trouble, and cost so many lives, 
rendered it more imperative than ever that I should 
persevere, make at least one more effort to discover 
the object of my quest. Success justifies everything; 
failure, though it may result from misfortune, is more 
often the outcome of weakness and irresolution. 


ALONE. 


109 


As for the danger, it would be quite as dangerous 
to advance as to retreat, and by going forward I might, 
even if I did not reach the Phantom City, discover some 
clue to its whereabouts. 

So, early on the following morning, after taking a 
bath in the mountain stream, I rolled up my hammock 
and my pat ate, strapped them to my back, shouldered 
my gun, and plunged once more into the forest. 

I had unfortunately very little powder and shot, my 
supply consisting only of the few cartridges in my pocket, 
and a few more which the Choles had overlooked. I 
put all the totoposte that was left carefully into my 
pack, resolving to use it only in the last extremity ; 
for the time might come when I should be unable to 
obtain either fruit or game. 

The first day I made fair progress. The forest was 
almost free from undergrowth. I had neither much 
cutting to do nor many detours to make, and when I 
halted for the night, an hour before sunset, I reckoned 
that I had done something like twenty miles. Having 
a keen recollection of my recent experience, I made 
such arrangements as I thought would enable me to 
pass the night in comparative peace and security. Light 
a fire I dared not, for there could be little doubt that I 
was in the Chole country, and as likely as not within 
a mile or two of one of their villages. So, after clearing 
a space with my machete , I slung my hammock on the 
branches of a huge cantamon, placed my gun within 
reach, and as soon as it was dark turned in and slept 


110 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


until the moon rose. Then I got up and resumed my 
tramp. I was still on falling ground, and likely to 
be so for some time ; for marching, as before, in a south- 
westerly direction, I was descending the Cordilleras very 
gradually. In this way I avoided the hot and humid 
plains of the tierra caliente , which lay lower down, and 
neared the region where, in my imaginary chart, I had 
placed the Phantom City. 

So far I had subsisted on bananas ; but uncooked 
bananas, besides being too tasteless and monotonous 
to be pleasant, are not sufficiently nourishing to keep 
up a man's strength under the strain of hard work, and 
I felt that, unless I got something more concentrated 
and nitrogenous, I should soon break down. I don't 
like killing monkeys, they are so like human-kind, and 
it is pitiful to see them die ; moreover, the report of 
my gun might bring upon me unseen enemies. But 
necessity has no law, and it would be better to risk 
death by a Chole arrow than to fall ill and, perchance, 
perish miserably by the way. Several monkeys were 
hanging about on the trees, eyeing me curiously, and 
probably wondering to what branch of the great Simiadae 
family I belonged. Choosing one of the biggest, I 
brought him down with a single shot, and to my great 
satisfaction the creature died without a struggle. 

Having killed my monkey, the next thing was to 
cook him, to which end it would be necessary to kindle 
a fire, and I decided to perform the operation at high 
noon, when the Choles would be the least likely to 


ALONE. 


Ill 


favour me with their attentions. In this I succeeded 
to admiration; the monkey was done to a turn. I 
roasted at the same time some bananas, and after enjoy- 
ing* an excellent dinner and having a good rest, I packed 
up the remnants of my feast and hied me onward. 

I had not gone far when, happening to glance 
over my shoulder, I was startled to see, creeping 
stealthily some two-score yards behind me, a black 
jaguar of fierce aspect and portentous size. I wheeled 
round as promptly as a soldier on parade, and as I 
did so the great cat slunk into the thicket. Then 
I went on again, taking care to look back every few 
minutes, and I very soon became convinced that the 
jaguar was stalking me. When I faced him he van- 
ished ; but the moment I moved on he followed in my 
track. I dare say he had been attracted in the first 
instance by the smell of my roast monkey, and probably 
smelt it still. 

Without being alarmed, I was uneasy. Unless 
cornered or rendered desperate by hunger or hurts, a 
jaguar seldom attacks a man openly. It has, however, 
no objection to take him by surprise, or tackle him 
when he sleeps. Herein lay my danger. If the crea- 
ture kept following me — and I had heard of jaguars 
following solitary travellers for days together — what 
was I to do ? Except while awake and on my guard, 
I should never be safe. However high I might sling 
my hammock, I should be in danger ; for the American 
tiger can climb a tree however smooth. A fire might 


112 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


be some protection, but only so long as it was well kept 
up, and even if there were no Choles to take into 
account, I could not sleep and keep up a good fire at the 
same time. With a rifle I could have made short work 
of the beast, but wounding it with small shot would 
ensure an immediate attack, and in a “ rough-and- 
tumble ” with that black jaguar I should be likely to 
come off second best. 

As long as daylight lasted I had certain evidence — 
that of my own eyes — that the creature was keeping up 
the chase, and I felt sure that when night came it 
would not be far off. 

Though I took the precaution to sling my hammock 
to a slender branch that could not well have borne a 
tiger's weight, I did not sleep a wink. I was always 
fancying that I could hear my pursuer prowling about, 
and see his eyes blazing in the darkness. 

And probably not without reason, for I had not 
walked a mile next morning when I saw him, creeping 
after me as before, and, as before, he slunk into the 
bushes when I turned round and faced him. This sort 
of thing was becoming unbearable. The sensation of 
being stalked is the reverse of pleasant, and I felt that 
if I did not soon get rid of the brute, he would soon 
get rid of me. Sooner or later I must sleep, and 
then 

There was only one way, and when I reached a place 
where the ground was pretty level and the forest open, 
I lay down behind a big tree, taking care to have my 


ALONE. 


113 


gun and machete close at hand. A few minutes later 
I saw the tiger following in my track with his nose to 
the ground, just like a hound hunting a cold scent. 

I remained as still as a mouse until he was well 
within range, and then, letting fly right at his head 
with both barrels, seized my machete and sprang to my 
feet. 

The next moment the enraged brute, terribly pep- 
pered about the face and half blinded with his own 
blood, came at me with a roar. As he sprang I struck 
him hard with my machete , splitting his skull down to 
the neck, and we rolled on the ground together. 

I got up not much the worse, though one of his 
claws had rather lacerated my shoulder ; and thinking 
his skin might possibly prove useful, I took it from 
him, und continued my journey with an easier mind. 


I 


114 


CHAPTER XII. 

IN THE RAPIDS. 

Eight days after leaving the ruins, I reached the banks 
of a broad and swift river. It was time, for as I left 
the Cordilleras behind me, and drew nearer to the tierra 
caliente , the forest again became less open, the under- 
growth denser and more tangled, the temperature 
higher, and I could only make headway slowly and by 
dint of severe and exhausting toil. My strength was 
beginning to fail me, my machete was fast wearing out, 
and I was forced to admit that, alone and without help, 
I could not possibly go on ; that for the time, at least, 
I must abandon my quest, and give up my hope, of 
finding the Phantom City. 

As I reached this conclusion I chanced to look 
skyward, and there, high above the tree-tops, a great 
condor, which had evidently just crossed the Cordilleras, 
was winging his flight towards the south-west — exactly 
the direction I desired to take, and where, as I believed, 
lay the mysterious country which I was beginning to 
fear I should never see. 

“ In an hour, perhaps in half an hour/’ I thought, 
“that bird may be flying over the Phantom City. It 
is possible that he sees it even now. If I could only 


IN THE RAPIDS. 


115 


borrow his wings ! By Jove ! Why should not I do it 
in a balloon ? '' 

The idea seemed so wild and absurd that I laughed 
aloud, and turned my thoughts to the accomplishment 
of the scheme which I had already devised — floating 
down the river on a raft. What river it was, or 
whither it went, I had no means of knowing ; probably 
either the Usamaeinta itself or one of its tributaries. 
There was just a possibility that it might run past the 
Phantom City ; if not, then to some place in Guatemala 
or Yucatan, whence I could make a fresh start or return 
to England. As to that, however, I should have to 
take my chance. It was a case of Hobson's choice. 
The current being too swift to be ascended without a 
boat and oars, I had no alternative but to swim with 
the stream, both literally and metaphorically. 

So I set about making a raft — not a very difficult 
undertaking. I cut a number of logs, made them of 
equal length, and fastened them together with lianas, 
which, when dry, bind as firmly as iron wire. Then I 
stiffened and strengthened the structure with cross 
pieces, rigged up the jaguar's skin as an awning, cut a 
long forked pole for steering and poling, and the job 
was finished. 

I did this in two days, and on the third I launched 
my barque on the unknown river, letting it take me 
whither it would. Its course was tortuous in the 
extreme, sometimes running due south, until I thought 
it would end in the Pacific ; then, bending eastward, as if 
i 2 


116 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


it would take me straight to the Atlantic. So frequent 
were its twists and turns, that without my compass I 
should have been at a loss to know, even vaguely, 
where my journey was likely to terminate, and as my 
sextant was one of the things taken by the Choles, I 
had no means of ascertaining my position. 

I travelled only by day and light of moon. An hour 
or so before sunset I generally moored my raft to a tree, 
and slung my hammock to a branch which overhung 
the stream. I was thus always ready to be off on the 
least alarm. 

As touching food, I was now in a land of plenty. 
The forest abounded with birds and monkeys, and the 
water with fish. I had a few hooks in my pocket- 
book, a line was easily made, and whatever might be 
the bait, I was never long in getting a bite. 

The scenery was superb ; the stream flowed through 
an umbrageous alley of gigantic trees, so lofty that they 
seemed at times to reach the sky ; flowers of exquisite 
loveliness were reflected in the bosom of the silent 
river ; vines trailed everywhere in the most bewilder- 
ing confusion ; old boughs, some of them as thick as 
young trees, closely intertwined and covered with 
bulbous plants and pendent flowers, hung over the 
water, true aerial gardens of Nature's own making. All 
this made up a picture which in richness and variety of 
colouring, splendour, and luxuriance of vegetation, 
surpassed in its beauty the wildest dreams of the most 
vivid imagination. 


IN THE RAPIDS. 


117 


But the loneliness of that serene river was unspeak- 
ably oppressive; I would gladly have given all its 
beauty for a single grasp of Wildf ell's friendly hand, 
a word from Don Gomez, or a glimpse of Pedro's 
honest face. 

What had become of them ? Had they, as I feared, 
been tortured and killed, or did they still live, the prisoners 
and slaves of their captors ? These questions continually 
recurred to me, and the idea of trying to reach the 
hidden city in a balloon, which, at the outset, I had 
dismissed as impracticable and absurd, began to take 
shape and substance in my thoughts. True, it was a most 
forlorn hope, yet it seemed to be the only chance now 
left of accomplishing my purpose. After all that had 
come to pass I could not ask anybody else to share in 
the perils of a second expedition. Undertaken alone, and 
on foot, it would be an act of sheerest folly and a pre- 
destined failure. But in a balloon I might manage with- 
out help; a fair wind would carry me in a few hours 
further than I could walk in as many weeks, and whether 
I succeeded or failed the risk would be mine, and mine 
only. Everything considered, moreover, it did not seem 
that an aerial voyage would be either more dangerous 
or more difficult than a land journey, and I had now 
two motives — the desire to find the Phantom City and 
the hope of hearing something of my lost companions. 

After long cogitation I resolved that if I got safely 
to my journey's end I would try and put the project 
into execution. 


118 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Since leaving the ruins I had seen no sign of human 
presence. But this did not surprise me. The Indians 
could not he everywhere ; in a region so thickly wooded 
they would congregate chiefly in the neighbourhood of 
their villages, and keep to the tracks made by them- 
selves, and those parts of the country with which they 
were most familiar. I bad also heard that they were 
indifferent boatmen, and greatly preferred land to 
water. All the same, I kept a sharp look-out, especially 
at points where the river was joined by its tributaries. 
I began to have doubts as to the former being the 
Usamacinta, for on the third day of my voyage it ran 
into another river, equally large; and “ which was 
which ” I had no means of ascertaining. 

The two combined formed a noble and picturesque 
stream, on whose meandering waters my raft floated 
at the rate of from two to four miles an hour. Its 
course, though devious, was due east. There could be 
little doubt that I was nearing the confines of the 
Known, and the further I went the more apprehen- 
sive I became as to what might befall me later on, 
for the Lacandones, as I well knew, kept a strict 
watch at the entrance to their domain. It was evi- 
dent, too, that, whatever might be the name or the 
source of the first stream I encountered, that now, at 
least, I was on the Usamacinta. The wooded heights 
to the north were unquestionably the lower slopes of 
the Cordilleras, and, instead of flowing tranquilly 
between level banks, the river was forcing its way 


IN THE RAPIDS. 


119 


through deep gorges and sweeping past lofty bluffs. The 
channel grew narrower, the current more impetuous ; 
every hour brought me nearer to the mountain gap 
by which the great river reaches the plains of Tobasco 
and the Gulf of Mexico. 

The navigation of my raft had, so far, presented 
no difficulty. True, it was rather a clumsy concern, 
but I could always control it with my make-shift 
boat-hook, and to pull up I had only to throw over- 
board the big stone which I used as an anchor. But 
where the river narrowed, and consequently deepened, 
this resource, owing to the shortness of my rope, 
failed me, and the current being now extremely rapid, 
I feared that if I once got into the middle of the 
stream I might be swept onward without power either 
to stop or steer. 

In these circumstances I thought it the part of 
prudence to hug the shore, using my pole now as a 
pusher, now as a rudder, occasionally hooking it to a 
root or a branch, always managing, one way or another, 
to keep near the bank. 

Going on in this style I one day reached a small 
creek, and, feeling tired, pushed my raft into its 
smoother water, let go my stone, and was lying down 
on my tiger-skin for a few minutes' rest, when, hap- 
pening to look up stream, I saw, to my horror, a large 
canoe with half-a-dozen nearly naked Indians on board, 
coming towards me at a great rate. That they meant 
mischief was evident from the fact that all, save one 


120 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


who was paddling*, were fitting arrows to the big bows 
with which each was armed. 

Without a moment's hesitation I cut my cable, and 
pushed the raft into the middle of the stream. I was 
between the devil and the deep sea; but everything 
considered, I preferred the perils of the one to the tender 
mercies of the other. 

The canoe was clumsy and lopsided, and as only 
one man was paddling, it went little faster than the 
raft. Yet, despite its comparative slowness, it gained 
on me ; the distance between us rapidly diminished, and 
it was clear that we should soon be at close quarters. 

I laid down my pole, took up my gun, and, kneeling 
on the tiger-skin, prepared to fire so soon as the canoe 
should be well within range. I did not think I had 
much chance of escaping ; but, come what might, I was 
determined not to be taken alive. 

At about fifty yards' distance the Indians let fly at 
me a shower of arrows, but owing to the wobbling of 
the canoe and the movement of the raft, all went wide. 
I did not reply for a couple of minutes, and then, taking 
deliberate aim at the paddler, I gave him a dose of small 
shot slap in the face, and fired the second barrel right 
into the thick of the others. 

Great confusion ensued on board the canoe. The 
paddler, giving a fearful yell, dropped his paddle into the 
water ; the boat, swept round by the current, nearly came 
to grief. It was several minutes before the crew could 
right her and resume the chase. The paddler seemed 


IN THE RAPIDS. 


121 


to be badly hurt ; be laid himself down in the bottom of 
the canoe, and paddled no more. I could also see by 
the gesticulation of his companions, and their bleeding 
faces, that some of them, too, had got pretty well 
peppered. They shouted savagely, threatened me with 
their spears, and when they had recovered from their 
confusion, one of them took the place of the prostrate 
paddler, and the vigour and energy of his strokes 
showed how eager they were to overtake me and have 
their revenge. 

While this was going on I had reloaded my gun 
with the last cartridges, save two, I possessed, and made 
ready for the reception of my pursuers as before. This 
time they came on more cautiously, display mg as little 
of their persons as might be, and, except the man who 
was paddling, I could see little more of them than the 
tops of their heads. But this position was not par- 
ticularly favourable for archery practice, and the first 
arrows they shot either stuck in the sides of the raft, or 
fell into the water. 

As for myself, seeing how nearly my ammunition 
was exhausted, I resolved to reserve my fire until I could 
do certain execution. I watched the advancing canoe 
with the closest attention, waiting for the most pro- 
pitious moment, and was just about to discharge my 
second broadside, when one of the fellows in the fore- 
part of the canoe raised a loud shout, dropped his 
bow, and seized a paddle. All the others followed his 
example. Thinking they were going to board me. 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


122 

refrained from firing until I could do so with the best 
effect. To my great surprise, however, the savages 
headed the canoe for the nearest bank, paddling as if 
they were possessed. 

All this time I had been looking up stream, and 
letting the raft take care of itself. 

A swift glance ahead revealed the secret of my enemies* 
sudden retreat. The river — now running more impetu- 
ously than ever — was entering a rocky defile, the sides 
of which rose sheer out of the water fully a thousand 
feet. We were in the rapids, and if the Indians had 
not stopped where they did they would not have been 
able to stop at all. 

As for me, I could not have stopped even if I had 
tried, and I did not try. The river and the Indians left 
me no alternative but to go on and take what came, re- 
signing myself to my fate with such fortitude as I might 
be able to muster. Had I been sure there was nothing 
worse to come this would not have been very difficult, 
for though the river ran like a mill-race the water was 
smooth, and nothing could be more delightful than the 
swift, undulating motion of the raft. But for anything 
I knew, and more likely than not, there were rocks and 
falls ahead, which it might be impossible to pass and 
live. 

Before I was half through the defile a heavy boom- 
ing sound struck on my ear, which justified my worst 
forebodings. Every moment this ominous din grew 
louder ; every moment the deep dark torrent, shut in 


IN THE .RAPIDS . 


123 


between frowning rocks, sped on witb increased velocity. 
I laid me down and clung to tbe woodwork of the raft 
witb tbe energy of despair. 

A few minutes later tbe river broadened out and 
became violently agitated, apparently by a fresh wind 
and the force of invisible currents. The raft was 
whirled round and round in tbe seething water until 
I grew so sick and dizzy that I could hardly hold on. 

This lasted for about ten minutes, when, reaching 
the edge of the whirlpool, I was literally spun into 
smoother water. 

Raising my head, and clearing the water from my 
eyes, I look down the river, now rolling majestically 
through an avenue of nodding palms and lordly forest 
trees, with stems like the columns of some great 
cathedral shining like silver in the sun under domes of 
emerald verdure. 

It is hard, amid all this romantic beauty, to believe 
that I am a helpless waif, hurrying swiftly to destruc- 
tion. Yet the terrible din, growing every moment 
louder and still louder, tells me that the fatal moment 
is at hand — that my very minutes are numbered. And 
now the stream makes a bend, and I see that a mile or 
so farther on the river disappears, leaps down a chasm 
of unknown depth, above which rises a cloud of mist 
and spray, spanned by a rainbow of exquisite loveliness 
— emblem of hope for the hopeless. 

Nearer and nearer I am borne towards the chasm. 

The uproar is terrific, deafening. I strain my eyes in 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


124 

a vain attempt to see through the foam-cloud. I am on 
the very brink. I cling to the raft with all my might ; 
I breathe a prayer for God's help ; give myself up for 
lost, and the next moment am swept down to un- 
fathomable depths. 

But the instinct of life is strong. When I find 
myself in deep water I strike out with all my strength, 
for I have parted company with the raft — which, by 
breaking my fall, has saved my life — and just as my 
senses are leaving me I contrive to reach the surface 
and refill my lungs. Then under I go agaiu, only to 
rise again the moment after. I fight on in this 
way for fully half an hour, seeing nothing but foam, 
hearing nothing but the roar of the cataract. Yet all 
the time I must have been drifting — going with the 
stream — for though the uproar continues, the turmoil 
and tossing gradually cease, and at length, breathless 
and exhausted, I find myself in smoother water. 

The relief and blessedness of it are past telling. 
Not so much because my life is saved as that I am at 
peace. The struggle is over, and I let myself float 
gently down the river, looking once more at the bright 
sun and the blue sky, and watching the trees glide 
swiftly by, with a sense of enjoyment intensified by the 
recollection of the terrible ordeal I have just undergone. 

The current is still so rapid that every effort I make 
to reach land is a failure, and I begin to fear that I have 
passed through the peril of the falls only to perish of 
exhaustion in the water. Several times, when almost 


IN THE RAPIDS. 


125 


touching the bank, I am swept back into the middle of 
the stream. 

At last the river does for me what I could not do 
for myself — throws me ashore, as it rounds a pro- 
montory. Crawling out of the water, more dead than 
alive, spent by exertion and overcome by mental strain, 
I lie down in the warm sunshine to rest my limbs, 
dry my rags, and think what I shall do next. 


126 


CHAPTER X 1 1 T. 

BACK AGATN. 

Though the ; sun was shining, and Nature all loveliness, 
I could not see daylight. Here I was, in an unknown, 
uninhabited country, with nothing in the world but a 
pair of much-worn trousers and a ragged shirt. Raft, 
machete , gun, shoes, hat — all were gone. Even the 
natives could not go about uncovered ; and though, at 
a pinch, I might improvise a hat out of a leaf, I did 
not see how, without a knife, I could make myself any 
sort of foot-gear, and only those who have tried it 
know the hardship — I had almost said the impossibility 
— of walking unshod over rough ground, among bram- 
bles and thorns, in a tropical wilderness. 

How far I might be from a human habitation I had 
no idea, neither could I tell whether I was out of the 
wild Indian territory. And where should I find shelter, 
where obtain food, how, weaponless as I was, defend 
myself from wild animals ? 

One way and another I was undeniably in a pretty 
tight fix. All that I had left was my life ; and though 
I had been terribly buffeted in the water, I had suffered 
no serious damage, and possessed the full use of my 
limbs. Bad as my case was it might have been worse. 


BACK AGAIN. 


127 


and if, as 1 hoped, I had got out of the Lacandone 
country and could fall in with a tame Indian, all might 
yet be well. Anyhow, there was no use staying where 
I was ; so, after I had rested myself, I twisted a leaf 
round my head, and set off on a new tour of exploration, 
picking my way with great care, and walking as 
gingerly as a man with unboiled peas in his shoes. But 
do as I would my feet got terribly cut and bruised, 
becoming at length so painful that if anything less than 
my life had been at stake I should hardly have had the 
resolution to persevere. 

Crossing the promontory where I had landed, I 
followed the river bank (occasionally laving my feet in 
the water) which was hereabouts pretty straight. After 
limping two or three miles, I came to an expanse of 
beautiful park-like country, the trees growing singly 
and in groups, on ground carpeted with grass and 
flowers — a glorious tropical garden. On the other side 
of the river stretched a broad savanna with a back- 
ground of luxuriant vegetation and wood -crowned 
heights. 

The scene seemed familiar to me. But I had beheld 
so many like scenes that, after a moment's pause, I 
trudged wearily on, looking out for bananas, for I felt 
terribly hungry. Then I looked again, and the more I 
looked the more I felt convinced that I had seen it all 
before. 

“ Yes it is! No it is not ! By Jove, it is — the very 
place where we slung our hammocks the night before we 


128 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


started for Flores ! The village where we got our horses 
must be on the other side of that clump of mimosa 
trees .” 

“ But I am on the wrong side of the river. Never 
mind ! I will swi m it. Better drown than starve.” 

Fortunately the flow was becoming less swift, and, 
picking a place where the stream was broadest and 
therefore most shallow and least rapid, I plunged in, 
and by swimming obliquely, and as much against the 
current as possible, I managed, with some difficulty, to 
fetch the opposite bank. 

An hour later I was at the village. 

How the tame Indians and mestizos stared at me ! 
And no wonder, for, with my long hair and beard, my 
leaf-covered head, bare and bleeding feet, ragged shirt, 
and dirty trousers, I must have looked more like an 
escaped lunatic than a sane Christian. But, without 
saying a word to anybody, I went straight to the house 
of the jefe politico (chief magistrate) whose acquaint- 
ance I had made before my start for Flores, and told my 
tale — or, at any rate, so much of it as I thought neces- 
sary. I said nothing about the Phantom City, and 
toned down considerably the story of my adventures. 
He looked serious and sympathetic when I mentioned 
the loss of my companions, was in no way surprised 
that I had been pursued by the Lacandones; but, 
though too polite to say so, he evidently disbelieved my 
account of the voyage down the Usamacinta and the 
passage of the falls. 


BACK AGAIN. 


129 


That, however, was of no moment. I did not want 
him to believe me. I wanted him only to help me to 
get back to Flores. I had a gold piece or two stitched 
in the waistband of my trousers — enough to keep me a 
few days and buy some clothes, but not enough to pay 
the hire of mules and arrieros to Flores. But I could 
promise to pay when we got there, and I asked th ejefe 
politico to assist me in making an arrangement on this 
basis. At first he demurred, said it could not be done ; 
and if the men who went with me before had not been 
willing to go with me again, and trust to my promise 
to pay them when we got to Flores, I should have been 
in an awkward dilemma. However the business was put 
through, and, after a good deal of tiresome palaver, 
they agreed to have everything ready for a start on the 
day but one following. 

While this was going on, a fowl, ordered at my sug- 
gestion by the jefe politico, had been roasting, and I ate 
every bit of it, barring the bones. I next bought a suit 
of clothes and a pair of boots, and they suited me so 
well that I might easily have passed for a Guatemalan 
Caballero. 

I need not describe the journey, which was a repeti- 
tion of the first, only rather easier, owing to the track 
having been recently traversed. The dear old corre- 
gidor received me with open arms, and seemed hugely 
delighted by the fulfilment of his prediction. 

“ I knew you would come back,” he said. “ You 
could not help it now, could you? Flores is really 
J 


130 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


so charming, the climate so perfect, the senoritas so 
lovely. You have not forgotten that tertulia , I’ll he 
bound. We will have another in honour of your return. 
You left some aching hearts behind you, Senor Don, 
you and the Senor Americano del Norte. And Senor 
Don Gomez de la Plata y Sombrero, how is he — well, I 
hope ? ” 

When I told him of the terrible fate that had be- 
fallen my friends and the arrieros , his countenance fell, 
and he seemed much distressed. 

“ How sad ! how very sad ! 33 he exclaimed. “ But I 
was afraid — I was afraid, when you said you were going 
to look for ruined cities, that you might venture into the 
wild Indian country ; but I knew that, even if I warned 
you, you would not take heed. English Caballeros and 
Americanos del Norte are so headstrong. You are the 
first that ever went so far and lived to tell the tale. 
You owe your life to the favour of Heaven and the 
Holy Virgin, Senor Doctor. The cura shall say masses 
for the souls of your friends and the arrieros . I will 
charge myself with the expense.” 

“ You think they are dead, then ? 33 

“ There cannot be a doubt of it. When the Choles 
take prisoners they put them to death with frightful 
tortures and then eat them.” 

i( But how can you know this, if, as you say, no- 
body who goes into their country ever comes back ? 33 

“ Everybody says the Choles torture and devour 
their prisoners. Do you think everybody would say so 


BACK AGAIN. 


131 


if it were not true ? It is a great pity. The Senor 
Americano del Norte — I cannot pronounce his name — 
was a fine man, though a little eccentric. And Don 
Gomez, with his guitar and love songs, was a noble 
caballero . He made a great impression on the hearts 
of our senoritas. He will have many fair mourners. 
There will be weeping eyes in Flores to-night. I think 
we had better not have the tertulia this evening, as 
I intended. We will put it off until Sunday. Three 
days are long enough to mourn. The departed would 
not like it to he longer, I am sure. Life is too short to 
be made miserable by useless regrets. You will be very 
happy in Flores, Senor Doctor. It is a pleasant place. 
And the senoritas — ah, the senoritas ! But you have 
seen them. I need say no more. And you may have 
your choice, Senor Doctor. The most beautiful will be 
delighted to become your bride.” 

I expressed, in fitting terms, my sense of the 
honour he proposed to confer upon me, but assured him 
that I had no intention of taking to myself a wife just 
yet — to the worthy corregidor’ s great surprise, for he 
looked upon a bachelor as something abnormal and 
monstrous, much as he would have looked upon a man 
who should deliberately refuse to go to heaven. And 
then he inquired, with much concern, whether I would 
not accept the offer he had made me before — settle in 
Flores, and become the physician of the district, promis- 
ing me, in addition to the other inducements already 
mentioned, a lucrative practice and an easy life. 

3 2 


132 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


After thanking him warmly for his kind intentions 
on my behalf, I said that, albeit I could not very well 
make Flores my permanent home, I would stay a pretty 
long time, and during my sojourn I should only 
be too glad to place such medical and surgical skill as 
I possessed at the disposal of himself and the people of 
his district. The old gentleman, though evidently dis- 
appointed that I did not accept his proposals without 
reserve, thanked me with effusion for so far complying 
with his wishes, found me lodgings in one of the best 
houses in the village, and got me everything I asked. 
I need hardly say that I asked for nothing he could not 
easily procure. 


133 


CHAPTER XIV. 

A NEW DEPARTURE. 

My next proceeding was to write to a scientific 
friend in London to order me a balloon and a net (if he 
could not get them ready-made) of certain dimensions, 
a few lengths of iron piping, india-rubber tubing, an 
electro-magnetic machine, a field-glass, a small telescope, 
arms, and some other things. All these were to be sent 
securely packed to Belize, which place I found could be 
reached in sixteen days — ten by river and six by road — 
and whither, when the time came, I proposed to go my- 
self to arrange for their safe transport to Flores. I also 
wrote to Dominick (of whose thousand pounds a con- 
siderable balance still remained), giving an account of 
my proceedings, and telling him of my new project. I 
begged him, however, to observe the strictest secresy, 
for I had resolved not only to make my aerial voyage 
alone, but to acquaint nobody (save my backer and pay- 
master) with my purpose and proposed destination. 

The arrieros who had accompanied me to Flores 
undertook to forward my letters to Carmen, and I took 
the precaution to send duplicates by a trader who was 
going to Merida. 

I could not expect answers much under two or three 


134 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


months, even if there should be no delays ; and the 
balloon and etceteras might not arrive at Belize for twice 
two months. This, however, was rather an advantage 
than a drawback, for I stood in need of rest, and re- 
quired ample time for preparation. My scheme had 
not yet been worked out in detail, and I foresaw that I 
should have much to do and many difficulties to over- 
come. 

The balloon would reach me in a very incomplete 
state. I should have to make the car, fix up some sort 
of apparatus for producing gas, prepare the minds of 
the unsophisticated Floreseros for an experiment which, 
as likely as not, they would regard as uncanny and 
diabolic ; and obtain the corregidor's co-operation in my 
enterprise without disclosing its true object — for, if fully 
enlightened, he would of a surety throw every possible 
impediment in my way, perhaps think himself justified 
in hindering by force the consummation of so mad a 
design. 

But he was a dear, credulous old man, with a pro- 
found respect for science, of whose later achievements 
some hazy and exaggerated accounts had reached him, 
and he had a vague idea that there was hardly anything 
beyond the power of science to accomplish, except, per- 
haps, raising the dead and preventing earthquakes. Of 
earthquakes, like nearly all who have beheld their 
effects, he stood in mortal terror. Slight shocks were 
occasionally felt at Flores ; and though he did not like 
to confess it, he was apprehensive that there would one 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 


135 


day come to pass a frightful catastrophe. I took a 
base advantage of this weakness — if weakness it was — 
talked learnedly about atmospheric phenomena, elec- 
tricity, the earth's crust, volcanoes, and the like, and 
I suggested that, in the event of an earthquake 
occurring at Flores, a captive balloon might be 
utilised as an “ark of refuge." On this I had, of 
course, to explain what captive balloons were like, 
the manner of their use, and some other things. The 
idea pleased the corregidor much ; and when I expressed 
my willingness to construct a balloon and fly it at 
Flores, his delight knew no bounds, and he promised 
me all the help he could give. 

This preliminary difficulty overcome, I had to con- 
sider the question of gas. My first idea had been to 
inflate my balloon on the Montgolfier system, by heated 
air ; but that would involve the necessity of a light, and, 
apart from the danger this would entail, a fire balloon 
requires much more attention than a gas balloon ; 
and as I proposed to travel without company, ease of 
management was absolutely essential. English aeronauts 
generally use coal-gas, which, though not pure hydrogen, 
answers the purpose. But in Peten there are neither 
coal-mines nor gas-works, and I should have to provide 
myself with the means of flying my balloon as best I 
could. Hydrogen exists everywhere, in the air we 
breathe, the water we drink, the wood we burn. The 
difficulty was to capture and confine, with the limited 
facilities at my disposal, a sufficient quantity of it to carry 


136 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


me over the Cordilleras, and, if need were, to the Quesal- 
tenango mountains, on the Pacific coast. 

Pouring sulphuric acid on zinc is perhaps the easiest 
way of making hydrogen, but as I had neither zinc nor 
sulphuric acid, it was not a way I could adopt. I next 
thought of extracting it from water by passing steam 
over iron filings. Unfortunately, however, there were 
no iron filings in Flores, so that plan had also to be 
dropped. In the end I decided to effect my object by the 
destructive distillation of wood in a sealed retort, just 
as coal is distilled for lighting purposes in ordinary 
gas-works. True, the resulting product would not be 
pure hydrogen, yet it would be light enough to float 
my balloon, which was all I wanted. The process is 
simple, and I was quite familiar with it ; on the other 
hand, Flores possessed few resources, and hardly any 
skilled labour, so that I had to do nearly all the work 
myself. But necessity is the mother of invention, and 
pending the arrival of the balloon and the other 
materials for which I had sent to England, I 
managed to fix up a furnace, build a retort of 
adobes lined with cement — which I thought would 
stand fire for at least a few hours — and made a drop- 
well. As I did not require the gas for illuminating 
purposes, there was no need to be very particular in 
the matter of purifying. My chief aim was to obtain 
as large a proportion of carburetted hydrogen as possible, 
which could best be done by quick heating of the retort ; 
and I knew that the resinous woods that abounded in 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 


137 


the neighbourhood would make even a hotter fire than 
coal. 

The car was a simpler matter than I had expected. 
A big basket would do, and one of the few craftsmen 
of whom Flores could boast happened to be a basket- 
maker, who, working under my direction, produced a 
roomy and sufficiently substantial article. 

At length came advice of the shipment of the 
balloon and the other things, and of the date of their 
probable arrival at Belize, whither I went to receive 
them. Their transport to Flores proved a stiller job 
than I had anticipated ; but it was put through, and the 
packages reached their destination in “ good order and 
safe condition ” 

I found the Floreseros in a state of intense excite- 
ment. My preparations were, of course, no secret, and 
the corregidor had talked much and largely of the balloon, 
and the wonders I was going to perform. The result 
was in some respects decidedly inconvenient, for I had so 
many voluntary assistants that I hardly knew which 
way to turn. The senoritas were especially curious and 
inquisitive, and drove me nearly wild with their ques- 
tions and observations. 

But everything has an end, and, after much toil and 
worry, and one or two vexatious breakdowns, I got my 
apparatus into working order, and proceeded to inflate 
my balloon, first taking care that it was safely tethered. 
It filled well, and rose magnificently. Then I hauled it 
down to the level of the ground, showed the corregidor 


138 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


inside, got in myself, and directed my assistants to let 
it rise about two-score yards. 

When the old gentleman felt himself going up he 
became terribly alarmed. 

“ Suppose the ropes break ? ” he said, turning very 
pale. 

“ Then we shall have a delightful ride through the 
air.” 

“ Heaven forbid ! Whj^, we might go to the 
moon ! ” 

“ Possibly. Shall we try ? I dare say I could stop 
it and come down if you wanted ; and you have no 
idea what a delicious sensation it is, floating over the 
mountain-tops and cruising among the stars.” 

“ Caramba , Senor Doctor ! Take heed what you say. 
If I did not know you so well, I should think ” 

“ What?” 

u That you were an emissary of the Evil One, luring 
me to destruction.” (Here his teeth began to chatter, 
warm though it was). “ Would you mind, dear Senor 
Doctor, telling the men to pull us down? I fear my 
wife — she is there watching us — will be getting uneasy, 
I do indeed. For myself I do not care; but when 
ladies are concerned, we must consider their feelings 
rather than our desires. And Martha, though a stout 
woman, is very nervous. See, she beckons to us. Do, 
please ! ” 

Thinking I had teased the old gentleman enough, 
I directed the men to haul the balloon down. 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 


139 


“ Thank Heaven and the Holy Virgin I am once 
more on firm ground ! ” exclaimed the corregidor, as he 
embraced his wife. “ I will never get into that thing 
again. I would rather take my chance in an earth- 
quake. And don't you, Senor Doctor. Let it go — to 
the moon, if it will. It is an accursed invention, and 
will bring you no luck ! ” 

I could see by the looks and hear by the murmurs of 
the bystanders that they fully shared the corregidor’ s 
views; and I have no doubt they thought in their hearts 
that the balloon was the handiwork, more or less, of our 
ghostly foe. 

It was not without intention that I had frightened 
the corregidor, and refrained from letting him see how 
easily I could lower the balloon by letting out gas. To 
tell the truth, my conscience was beginning to reproach 
me for the part circumstances were compelling me to 
play. He was such a good old fellow, that it was really 
a shame to deceive him ; to deceive him and hurt his 
feelings at the same time would have been too bad, and 
I wanted so to manage matters that the deception 
should never be known. Better leave him to the belief 
that I had been carried off nolens volens by a devil- 
possessed balloon, than let him deem me guilty of the 
unkindness and ingratitude of stealing away without 
giving a hint of my intention, or saying a word of fare- 
well. I liked the old man so much that I did not want 
him to think ill of me, and he and my other friends 
would unquestionably have destroyed the balloon, rather 


140 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


than allow me to go. Their hostility to it was so great 
that they were as likely to destroy it as not, even if I 
remained ; and unless I went at once, I might not get 
away at all. Another reason for immediate departure 
was the fact of the wind being fair. It varied from 
nor'-east by north, to east-nor'-east, and would carry me 
right over the Cordilleras, and, as I thought and hoped, 
across the valley of the upper Usamacinta. 

I might never have such another chance. It would 
be folly to let it slip ; so I made up my mind to start 
early on the following morning. After seeing that the 
balloon was well fastened, I had a few bags of sand put 
into it — as an additional precaution, and to keep it in 
a proper position, as I explained. To prevent the 
meddling of curious busybodies, I hinted that any 
touching of the ropes or other parts of the apparatus 
might cause a terrific explosion. When night came I 
put on board, unobserved, everything I wanted to take 
with me, and all that I was likely to require for my 
journey — water, food, clothing, instruments, the mag- 
neto-electric machine, arms and ammunition, and a few 
other odds and ends. 

These preparations were by no means made with a 
light heart. I knew that I was embarking on a cruise 
which might cost me my life, and that in all probability 
I should never see Flores and its people again. They 
were a simple, kindly folk, and I had become much 
attached to them, and they, I think, to me. Senora 
Grijalva, my hostess, treated me as a member of her 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 


141 


family, and she had three charming daughters — Juanita, 
Patricia, and Antonia — who were even more amiable 
and gracious than their mother. Juanita was my 
favourite. She sang divinely, and played the marimba 
to perfection, was more thoughtful and intelligent than 
her sisters, and, if I could have done as the corregidor 

desired, I think it is very likely that Juanita 

However, it was not to he. I had other and sterner 
work before me than living a quiet, uneventful life in 
the land of flowers. 

Poor J uanita ! I have often wondered what she 
thought and how she felt when she saw my balloon sail 
away towards the unknown country beyond the dark 
Cordilleras. 

A few days previously I had received a characteristic 
letter from Dominick, dated from Davos Platz in the 
Engadine. His health was already very much better, he 
said, but his breath had been completely taken away by my 
mad proposal to look for the Phantom City in a balloon. 
He besought me to think better of it. “You have 
done all that man could do/' He went on : “ To make 
another attempt would be something like a tempting of 
Providence. At the same time, you are just the man to 
refuse to listen to reason and to go your own way, 
whatever may be urged against it. And, really, you 
seem to have as many lives as a cat. If, after all, you 
persist in going up in a balloon, I believe you will come 
down, and that some time and somewhere or other we 
shall meet again. In this hope, I remain, truly your 


142 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


friend, Peter Dominick. — P.S. Better give up the idea 
of meeting at Merida, I think. If you do come down , 
communicate with my bankers in London, and they will 
let you know where I am. — P.D.” 

This letter, as may be supposed, did not shake my 
resolution in the least — rather encouraged me, in fact. 
It was true : I did seem to have as many lives as a cat. 
Like Napoleon, I had confidence in my star, and felt that, 
sooner or later, and somehow or other, I should succeed 
in my undertaking, and find the object of my quest. 

Shortly after daylight on the following morning I 
left Senora Grijalva's house for the last time, and in a 
very melancholy mood. I found the balloon all right, 
and, early as it was, surrounded by a small crowd of 
gaping villagers. I stepped at once into the car, and 
requested two of them who came to my help to let out 
the rope when I gave the word. I was scarcely seated 
when up came the corregidor , in a state of great excite- 
ment. 

" What are you doing ? " he asked. 

“ I am going to try if the balloon will still rise/' 

“ I would not if I were you. Suppose it refuses to 
come down ! Let me entreat you, Sefior Doctor I You 
are running into danger. Do not, I beg of you, compel 
me to exert my authority ; but I shall really be 

obliged — I — I really shall " 

While he talked I gave the signal. A moment 
later the two men had paid out all the rope and I 
was a hundred feet above their heads. 


A NEW DEPARTURE. 


143 


“ Come down, Senor Doctor ; come down \ ” screamed 
the corregidor . “ Pull the ropes, Ramon ! Pull, J ose ! 

Make the accursed thing come down ! ” 

But this was more than Ramon and Jose could do. 
The wind being strong, the balloon seemed much 
more disposed to pull them up than to let them pull 
it down. All they could do was to hold on. Seeing 
this the corregidor and several others ran to their help. 
At this moment one of the ropes (secretly unloosed by 
me) gave way. Ramon fell flat on his back, and Jose, 
after letting himself be lifted a few feet from the 
ground, followed his comrade’s example, and rolled over 
his prostrate body. 

I was off. The last I saw of the Floreseros was a 
mass of fear-stricken, upturned faces, among which I 
thought I could distinguish the honest countenance of 
the corregidor and the dark tender eyes of the lovely 
Juanita. 


144 


CHAPTER XV. 

THROUGH THE AIR. 

In a few minutes Flores became a mere speck, and 
then faded utterly away. Beneath me, and to the 
furthest limits of the horizon, stretched a vast ocean 
of verdure, and from the height to which I had risen 
hill and dale seemed no more than the undulations of 
a sylvan sea. The streams were silver threads, the lakes 
diamonds ; and though the great sun flamed in a sky of 
clearest blue, his heat was tempered by the breeze that 
wafted me along. 

Yet, though so highly favoured by circumstances, I 
realised for the first time the desperate nature of the 
expedition in which I had engaged, and whatever may 
have been the cause — whether the intense loneliness of 
my position, or the reaction from the excitement of the 
last few days — my spirits fell as my balloon rose : I 
began to imagine all sorts of dread possibilities, and 
had it been in my power, I almost think I should have 
turned back. But I was now at the mercy of the wind, 
whither it led I must go. This was the alarming part 
of it : how long would the wind hold fair, and, if not, 
what then ? I was between two oceans, and if a storm 
arose I might be driven towards the Pacific or the 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


145 


Atlantic and perish miserably of starvation. It would 
be almost as bad were tbe wind to die out altogether 
and leave me becalmed. Or some accident might befall 
the balloon, the gas might escape, and after going up 
like a rocket, I might come down like a stick. But 
even if none of these things should happen, and my 
descent be voluntary, I might conceivably make a bad 
shot, and either drop into the crater of a volcano, the 
middle of a Chole village, or among a network of bar- 
rancas and canons, from which extrication would be 
impossible. And supposing I escaped this and other 
dangers, how was I to identify the Phantom City if I 
should be so lucky as to come near it? How distinguish 
it from a mass of more than usually perfect ruins ? 

I might even — horrible thought — descend on the very 
ruins from which I had lately had so much difficulty in 
getting away ! 

I had thought of all these contingencies before — 
except, perhaps, the one last mentioned — and deliberately 
determined to risk them ; but now that they stared me 
in the face, and might come to pass within a few hours, 
they looked much more formidable. I began to think 
myself quite as foolhardy as most sane people would 
have deemed me, and at that moment I regarded the 
odds against me as being about ten thousand to one. 

However, I am never low-spirited for very long 
together, and the motion of the balloon was so pleasant, 
and the view so glorious, and the sense of speeding 
through the air without effort so exhilarating, that my 
K 


146 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


courage gradually returned. I lighted my pipe, and as 
I had looked on the dark side of the picture, I tried now 
to look on the bright side. The balloon was behaving 
admirably — that was one good thing ; the weather was 
fine and the wind fair — two more good things. If the 
worst came to the worst, and I missed the Phantom 
City altogether, there seemed no reason why I should 
not carry on until I reached Totonicapan or Quesal- 
tenango, where there were civilised settlements and a 
tame population. I had food and water enough for 
four days, and much less time than that would suffice 
to take me to the Pacific coast. 

As for identifying the Phantom City, I must just 
take the truth of the legend and the story of the Cura’s 
Chiche for granted, and only descend to terra Jirma 
when I distinctly saw a lake, an island, and a town. 

A large sheet of water is, fortunately, a good sign, 
visible a long way off. Even now, high up as I was, I 
could easily, with the help of my field-glass, distinguish 
rivers and streams, which were scattered about like 
strings of pearl in an emerald sea. By letting off gas 
I could get closer to the ground whenever I liked; but 
as there was a certain amount of leakage always going 
on, and the gas I might lose could not be replaced, I 
did not want to resort to this expedient until it should 
become absolutely necessary, and I had reason to believe 
that I was approaching the locality where, in my 
imaginary chart, I had placed the Phantom City. 

As yet, however, I had not crossed the Cordilleras, 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


147 


and whatever else might be in doubt, there could be no 
question that I should have to cross the mountains 
before I could reach my destination. 

Judging by the rapidly-changing character of the 
country and my own sensations, I was travelling at a 
fair rate. Towards noon I seemed to be getting 
nearer the ground. The streams grew bigger. I could 
distinguish, with the naked eye, hill from dale, bare 
barrancas from wooded heights : from which I inferred 
that I was over the Cordilleras, for my barometer told 
me that the balloon was not more than a hundred feet 
lower than it had been at the highest. This gave me 
great satisfaction ; it showed that I was moving fast, 
and in the direction I wanted to go. It showed, too, 
that I was wasting little gas, and that I might hope 
to pass the highest point of the mountains without 
having to throw out sand. 

I did not want for occupation. When not looking 
at my barometer, or casting an eye on the balloon, I 
was sweeping the country with my glass ; and never 
did I behold a grander panorama than that which 
stretched beneath me. Dark valleys of immeasurable 
depth, tremendous precipices clothed with verdure, 
splendid peaks and castle - like crags, rearing their 
silvery crests in the azure sky, foaming torrents cleaving 
their way through primeval forests, here and there a 
mountain tarn glistening like a diamond in the sun, 
and far away to the sou'-west a rugged volcanic peak 
from which rose a long column of dark-blue smoke, 
k 2 


148 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


It was perhaps an hour past noon that, as I looked 
with delight on this incomparable scene, there came 
over it a startling change. It stood still. At the same 
time the pleasant breeze which had so far tempered the 
great heat as suddenly dropped. Then I knew that 
one of the things I most feared had come to pass — I 
was becalmed. Becalmed right over the pathless gorges 
and unexplored wilds of the Cordilleras, which no white 
man had ever seen and probably no human foot had 
ever trod. The balloon could not have stopped in a 
worse place — except perhaps over the crater of an active 
volcano. But there is a certain comfort in having no 
alternative, for where there is choice there is room for 
hesitation. Here, at least, there was none. I could 
only stay where I was and whistle for a wind ; and at 
an altitude so great it was impossible for the air to 
remain long without movement. My great fear was 
that it might move the wrong way. But as worrying 
could have no effect upon atmospheric currents, I 
put down my glass and ate my dinner of jerked beef 
and tortillas with good appetite, and then, filling 
my pipe with Peten tobacco — the best in the world 
I think — lay down in the car, and consoled myself with 
a smoke. 

After my smoke I indulged in a siesta, for I had 
slept little the night before, and the day was overpower- 
ingly hot. I don't know how long I slept, but I 
awoke with a start and a sense of surprise, not remem- 
bering for a moment where I was. Then I rubbed my 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


149 


eyes, and, shading them with my hands, looked up into 
the sky. 

“ Hang it ! " I thought, “ what can that speck be ? 
A cloud ? ” 

Hardly. 

But whatever it might be it grew bigger and came 
nearer even as I looked. I took up my glass and 
looked again. 

The speck was a bird — a very big bird, or at that 
distance, for it must have been miles away, I could 
not have seen it at all. 

I watched the creature with sleepy curiosity, specu- 
lating as to the rate at which it might be travelling, 
and recalling the stories I had read of the rapid flight of 
vultures and falcons, and their wonderful powers of scent 
and vision, when it struck me that this particular bird 
I had in view seemed to be making straight for the 
balloon. From its great size, moreover, I took it to be 
a condor, the largest of known birds, a veritable monarch 
of the air, more than a match for buffalo or jaguar, 
strong enough to carry off a man as easily as an eagle 
carries off a leveret. 

A single dash of its claws into the balloon 
would mean sudden collapse and swift destruction. 
The thought was appalling. I watched the huge 
thing with intense anxiety, hoping against hope that 
it had some other object, and would give me a wide 
berth. 

But when it got within a mile and still came on 


150 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


as straight as a die, I knew that I must prepare for 
a difficulty. The condor meant mischief. 

I took up the repeating rifle, for which 1 had sent 
to England, resolving to fire the moment the bird came 
well within range and I could be sure of my aim. 

When the great bird was about five hundred yards off 
he pulled up, and, poising himself on his outstretched 
wings, which must have reached fully fourteen feet, 
seemed to be making a critical examination of the balloon 
and its occupant. It was evidently the first ornitholo- 
gical specimen of the sort he had seen, and he was pro- 
bably thinking whether it was safe to attack or good to 
eat. Then he wheeled slowly round, coming every time 
a little nearer, and I could now see, by the cartilaginous 
comb that crowned his head and the wattle which en- 
veloped his neck, that he was a male. At length he 
appeared to have made up his mind for a still closer 
inspection, and with extended neck made straight for 
the balloon. In doing this he exposed his breast, for which, 
kneeling in the car, and taking steady aim, I fired. 

The condor dropped like a stone. But only a few 
yards, and to rise again to the level of the balloon. On 
this I fired again — this time at the junction of the wing 
with the body. The shot was fatal, the wounded wing 
dropped useless by his side, and after a desperate effort 
to recover himself, the bird fell sheer down, struck 
against a pinnacle of rock, bounded off, and disappeared 
amongst the trees which grew at its foot. 

I breathed a deep sigh of relief, for the danger had 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


151 


been very real, and it was one on which I had in no wise 
counted. If the condor had come straight down, or 
while I was asleep, I should never have seen him, and 
our relative positions would have been reversed. I 
should have been down among the rocks, he up in 
the air. It was fortunate, too, that the balloon was 
still ; had it been moving I could not have taken such 
good aim. On the other hand, it was probably this 
very stillness which had attracted the condor’s attention, 
and, for aught I knew, might attract that of others ; 
though as these birds generally confine themselves to 
the Andes and to heights of ten thousand feet and 
upwards, I rather thought the one I had shot was a 
straggler, driven from his native haunts by a rival, and 
that I should see no more of them. 

I had just come to this satisfactory conclusion, and 
was leaning lazily over the side and smoking my 
relighted pipe, when I heard the whirr of wings behind 
me. 

Before I could look round, the car gave a violent 
lurch, and I found myself outside, holding on for bare 
life to a rope which I had instinctively clutched as I fell. 

The balloon had been attacked by a second condor, 
evidently the mate of the one I had killed ; but, fortu- 
nately for me, instead of clawing the silk, she dashed 
against the car, which she had seized with her beak, 
and was now beating with her wings. 

The additional weight was making the balloon 
descend rapidly, and the condor shook the car so much 


152 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


that I had great difficulty in getting back ; but by a 
desperate effort I managed at last to get one foot inside, 
and, still holding the rope, I picked up my revolver and 
fired two bullets into the bird's neck. The wings 
stopped beating at once, but the beak remained firmly 
fixed in the basket-work, and the dead weight (now the 
wings were no longer beating) pulled the balloon down 
more than ever, so tilting the car that if it had not 
been for the rope I should certainly have fallen out 
again. 

Steadying myself as well as I could I fired a third 
bullet, this time between the eyes; but though the 
condor was now as dead as a stone, I had to prize the 
beak open with my machete before I could get rid of 
the carcase. 

Then the balloon rose again and remained as still as 
before. Not knowing how many more condors might 
think fit to favour me with their intentions, I reloaded 
my rifle and revolver, thanked Heaven for my escape, 
and, like Wellington at Waterloo, prayed for night. 

When I say the balloon was still, I do not mean that 
it was an absolute fixture, for though I felt no motion, 
I knew from the changing position of certain bearings 
which I had taken, that I was drifting slowly, if almost 
imperceptibly, southward. I looked upon this as a 
good omen, and felt sure that the breeze would spring 
up again before long. My fear now was that it would 
spring up too soon, the day being far spent, and if 
the wind rose at sunset, or early in the night, I might 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


153 


easily be carried over tbe Phantom City without seeing 
it. In view of this possibility it would have been 
better had I delayed my start until there was light of 
moon. But if I had waited until every circumstance was 
favourable, and moon, wind, and weather all smiled on 
me at once, I should probably never have started at all. 

When a man engages in a hazardous enterprise he 
must leave much to Providence and think as little of 
himself as may be. If he lets his mind dwell on the 
danger, conjures up difficulties, and tries to provide for 
every possible contingency, one thing at least is sure — 
he will not succeed. 

So, resigning myself to the inevitable, I hoped 
for the best; and, seeing no more suspicious specks 
moving in my direction, watched the sun go down 
with good courage, wondering where I and my balloon 
would be the next time I saw him. His disappearance 
left me in thick darkness. Not a glimmer in the sky — 
the world blotted out of existence. I peered over the 
edge of the car, drew back with a shudder, partly from 
the horror of it, partly from cold — for the air, though 
serene, was chilly, and I was too far from the earth to 
benefit by its radiation. The silence was awful. I 
would have welcomed the din which I had found so 
trying when benighted in the forest as friendly voices. 

Never before had I known what it was to be really 
alone. I had no companions, seen or unseen. I was a 
mere waif, drifting between heaven and earth. Again 
the melancholy mood came over me, and as I sank into 


154 


THE PHANTOM CITJT. 


the bottom of the car the intense stillness made me 
almost weep ; but remembering that I was as much 
one of God's creatures,, as entirely in His hands as if I 
were sitting by my own fireside in far-away dear old 
England, my mind became more composed. The 
thought soothed and consoled me ; and, covering myself 
with all the clothes I had, I sank into a deep sleep. 

When I awoke the sky was all aglow with myriads 
of magnificent stars, and the balloon moving rapidly 
through space — in what direction I was unable precisely 
to determine, for I could not read my compass and my 
matches blew out as fast as I struck them, but, judging 
from the position of the constellations — especially the 
Southern Cross — almost due south. Amid that scene of 
more than earthly beauty, so entrancing that I hardly 
heeded the bitter cold, I sped on until the stars began to 
pale and the red-rimmed sun rose majestically above the 
eastern Cordilleras. 

I looked eagerly at my compass. I had not been 
mistaken. The balloon's course was west-sou'-west. 
How long she had been going at this speed I had no 
idea. It might be only an hour — a few minutes ; 
but if the wind had freshened soon after I went to sleep it 
might be seven or eight hours. As, on reference to my 
barometer, I found that the balloon was at about the 
same height as before, and the earth seemed consider- 
ably lower, I concluded that I had passed the highest 
ridge of the Cordilleras, for I was now floating over fall- 
ing hut very broken and undulating ground — conical 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


155 


hills, high table-lands, desolate barrancas, deep valleys, 
with here and there broad sweeps of savanna, covered 
for the most part with thick forest. Yet neither sign of 
human presence, nor the least vestige of the Phantom 
City. 

Could I have passed it ? Impossible ! But though 
I tried hard to reassure myself, and it was not probable 
that I had as yet come near the Phantom country, there 
was no denying that, during those hours of darkness and 
sleep, I must have swept over a vast stretch of territory. 
At any rate, if the wind held, this day must decide my 
fate. If evening came and brought with it neither 
sign nor sight of the city there would be no more room 
for hope. 

I used the glass almost continually, removing it only 
to glance at the compass or barometer ; and when the 
ground seemed to sink I let out gas. So intent was I 
that, albeit hungry, I did not cease from looking. While 
I held the glass with one hand I ate with the other. 

The hours went on. I glanced at my watch. Nine 
o'clock. Then the sun reached the zenith. Still no sign. 
One o'clock. The same. Two. Still no sign. Yet 
in that clear air, and with my powerful glass, I could 
see over a great extent of country. 

I put my glass down and shut my eyes, partly out 
of the sickness of heart that comes of hope deferred, 
partly because they were getting dim with long 
looking. 

I kept my eyes closed fully half-an-hour ; then, 


156 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


trembling with excitement and apprehension — for this 
was nearly my last hope — I raised my glass* slowly, 
almost reluctantly, and looked again. 

a Ah ! what is that ? ” 

A gleam as of water over the crest of yonder hills, 
a score or two of miles to the south. Water it is, sure 
enough — probably a lake ; but if there be anything else 
I cannot make it out. I am too low, those mountains 
obstruct the view. I have let out too much gas. A 
bag of sand overboard. There ! I am rising. Still, 
nothing clearly visible, save a sheet of water in what 
appears to be a vast plain begirt with hills. I adjust 
my telescope ; it carries farther than the field - glass, but 
owing to the oscillation of the balloon, is more difficult 
to manage. 

Steadying it on the bight of a rope I take a long 
look. Yes, a biggish lake, and in the middle of it a 
large dark object and two or three smaller ones. Islands 
beyond a doubt. As yet, however, I can see no build- 
ings. But everything else answers to the description 
of the Cura's Indian. All the same, if there are no 
buildings 

I lay down the telescope, and try to calm myself; 
glance at the compass and barometer, and see that the 
balloon is all right and tight. Then at it again. 

Something white seems to emerge from the larger 
island — the others are mere specks. Something white, 
glistening in the sun. Buildings or rocks ? Too soon 
to determine, but in all probability the former. As I 


THROUGH THE AIR. 


157 


draw nearer they grow larger and become more dis- 
tinctly defined. Yes, buildings without a doubt, but 
whether perfect or in ruins, peopled or unpeopled, it is 
impossible to say. Anyhow, I make up my mind to 
descend ; for, if this be not the city of the legend, it 
either does not exist or is beyond the power of man to 
discover. And even if the valley is not inhabited I 
can live there. I will take my chance of getting away. 

Rather than miss the opportunity it will be better 
to go down at once and finish the journey on foot. But 
on taking the bearings I find that, though the balloon's 
course is a point or two wide of the island, I shall be 
able to descend into the valley, without, as I hope, 
falling into the water. 


158 


CHAPTER XVI. 

PHANTOMLAND AT LAST. 

When I pass over the line of hills which bound the 
valley to the north assurance becomes doubly sure : their 
lower slopes are under cultivation and dotted with 
dwell mgs, and the lacustrine island is covered with 
buildings of large size and handsome proportions, which 
so far bear out the legend that they “ glisten like 
silver in the sun.” The large island seems to be con- 
nected with the shore by a chain of islets, and I judge 
the last to be about sixty or seventy miles in circum- 
ference. The surrounding country is green and park- 
like, interspersed with groups of trees, and appears to 
be richly cultivated. 

But I was thinking less of fair landscapes just then 
than the navigation of my balloon. I let out gas pretty 
freely, knowing that in case of need I could rise again 
by throwing out ballast. My object was to descend as 
near the city as possible, for I thought I should be 
likely to meet with a better reception from the authori- 
ties than from the rustics, who might make short work 
both of me and my balloon. As I neared the ground, 
being only a few yards above the tree-tops, I could see 
people gesticulating and running about in all directions. 


PIIANTOMLAND AT LAST. 


159 


evidently in a state of great excitement. The lake was 
still some distance off, and as I was getting lower than 
I liked I threw out ballast, and got my grappling- 
irons ready. 

After carrying on about ten minutes longer I 
found that I was within a mile of the lake, and as I 
wanted neither to pass over it nor drop into it, I let out 
gas again, and when low enough, threw the irons 
into a grove of cocoa- trees. After tearing away a few 
branches they held fast, and the balloon brought-to with 
a shock that nearly threw me out of the car. My aerial 
voyage was over, and in that balloon at least I did not 
think I should ever take another. It had served me 
well, and, so far, I had every reason to consider myself 
highly favoured by fortune, for there could be little 
doubt that the island-city was the city which I sought. 

I did not get out at once. I waited to see what 
would happen, for some indication of the disposition of 
the natives — whether they were likely to treat me as an 
enemy or receive me as a friend. Several were already 
gathered before the grove where I had “ let go” and 
from my te coign of vantage” above the tree-tops I 
could watch their movements, and might, perchance, 
guess their intentions. 

To judge from their gesticulations and the res- 
pectful distance at which they kept themselves, they 
were both excited and alarmed — and no wonder, if they 
had never seen a balloon before. I was glad to see 
they were unarmed, except with the inevitable machete , 


160 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


which, however, is no more a weapon than a sickle or 
a scythe. But what surprised me most, though, strangely 
enough, it did not strike me at first, was the whiteness 
of their skins. I do not mean that the people were 
as fair as a blonde Englishman, but they were lighter 
than an average Spaniard. Their complexions were 
clear, too, and their features more intelligent and refined 
than those of any Indian people I had met with or heard 
of. Had it not been for their lank, lustreless locks, I 
should have thought they were descended from some 
European or Asiatic stock, but the cylindroidal character 
of their hair stamped them as belonging to an 
aboriginal American race. They were broad-set, and 
seemed short of stature, though as to this I could 
not be quite sure, while the absence of beard and the 
lightness of their skins gave them an appearance of 
comparative youth. Their dress was simple and well 
suited to the climate — a blouse of unbleached cotton , 
stuff, a bright-coloured belt or sash, probably of the 
same material, a short kilt, and sandals. Their head- 
gear consisted of a hat of some light fabric, in shape 
and general appearance not unlike an Indian pith helmet. 

I made these observations — and I thought them 
highly satisfactory — by means of my field-glass, which, 
so far as seeing was concerned, brought me within a 
few feet of the group of bystanders, now fast becoming 
a crowd. At any rate, I had not fallen among savages. 

These people were not only gardeners and husband- 
men, they could spin, weave, and dye ; and the splendid 


PHANTOM LAND AT LAST. 


161 


edifices which adorned the islands of the lake showed 
that they knew how to design and build. 

But it did not seem as if they knew much about 
optics, for every time I raised the glass to my eyes, or 
took it away, there was a shout of astonishment ; but 
curiosity was beginning to get the better of fear — if 
fear there was — and the men — for, so far as I could 
make out, none of the softer sex were present — drew 
nearer, many of the bolder spirits coming quite close to 
the tree to which I had grappled the balloon. 

How could I offer them a token of amity? I 
thought of waving my pocket-handkerchief, but it was 
hardly to be expected that this primitive folk would 
understand the meaning of a flag of truce. I hit upon 
a much happier idea. I charged my pipe, lighted it 
with a tinder and steel apparatus such as is sold by 
English tobacconists, and began to smoke. 

Another shout, followed by some laughter, whereupon 
several of the Phantoms produced pipes of their own, 
and, nodding at me in a friendly way, filled them ; and, 
a bit of live charcoal being obtained, I knew not how, 
we joined in smoking the calumet of peace. At any 
rate, this was the construction I put upon the proceeding, 
and, thinking the occasion opportune for making a more 
decided move, I let down a couple of ropes, and, twist- 
ing them round my legs sailor fashion, slid down to 
firm earth. 

The Phantoms started back in surprise, probably 
not unmixed with dismay, much as a crowd of English 
L 


162 


THE PHANTOM CITY, 


rustics might do if a gigantic Zulu were to drop down 
among them from the sky. Not that my height is 
extraordinary — I stand six feet one in my stockings — 
but, compared with these people, the tallest of whom 
was not more than five feet six, I was almost a giant. 
Then they had long black hair and bare faces ; my hair 
was short, curly, and chestnut, and I was bearded like 
the pard. Altogether the difference between us was so 
striking that they might well suppose I belonged to 
another world, if I had not actually descended from the 
stars. 

When I thought we had stared at each other long 
enough, I quietly re-charged my pipe and lit it with a 
lucifer. The striking of the match caused great wonder- 
ment, and drew forth many expressions of surprise. 
Then I went a little closer to them, gracefully waving 
my pipe by way of greeting — a sign to which the men 
nearest me responded by laying their right hands on 
the ground and then on their heads. I did likewise, 
after which we stared at each other again. 

They were evidently a kindly, good-natured folk, 
these Phantoms — nothing ferocious or savage either in 
their attitude or their faces. I wanted to open a con- 
versation with them. The difficulty was what to say or 
how to begin. I had made myself fairly proficient in 
Mayan, and knew something of Quiche, the root lan- 
guages of Central America, but they are split up into 
such a multitude of dialects that I felt great doubt, even 
supposing these people spoke a kindred tongue, whether 


PHANTOMLAND AT LAST. 


163 


they could understand me, or I them. Aboriginal 
Indian languages are all, I believe, hy posy nthe tic, like 
the bill of the English farrier, who wrote, “ shooinyer- 
greyoss — atakinonimomeagin ; 3> that is to say, a phrase is 
a word : broken up it becomes meaningless. They are 
destitute alike of inflections and concrete forms. I did 
not know that the Phantom language possessed these 
characteristics, but I thought that very likely it did, 
and, concluding it would be best to start the palaver 
as simply as might be, I said, in my best Mayan, and 
pointing to my pipe — 

“ I smoke the pipe of peace.” Then, pointing to the 
smokers, “ You smoke the pipe of peace.” 

They did not seem to understand, so I repeated the 
observation, speaking very slowly and distinctly. On 
this they smiled pleasantly and nodded intelligently, 
from which I inferred that if they did not understand 
my language they, at any rate, divined my thoughts. 
They said something in return, which, albeit I was un- 
able to make out, sounded very like Mayan, and referred, 
I felt sure, to eating or drinking. 

I bowed, and answered in the Mayan affirmative, for 
I felt both hungry and thirsty. 

This time I was understood without difficulty. 
Everybody smiled, and one of the Phantoms, stepping 
out of the ranks, signified that he would like to take me 
somewhere. I followed him without hesitation. He 
led me to an opening among the trees a few score yards 
away, where stood a little house, built of sun-dried bricks 
L 2 


164 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


and thatched with the leaves of the maguey (Mexican 
aloe), a splendid specimen of which, with its clustering 
pyramids of flowers towering above their coronal-like 
leaves, threw its graceful shade over the cottage. 

My conductor, after courteously inviting me by 
word and gesture to seat myself on a bench under the 
aloe-tree, went into the house, whence he presently re- 
turned, followed by two girls, each carrying a wooden 
platter, on one of which were two wooden cups, on the 
other a pile of cakes. 

These being the first female Phantoms I had seen, 
I regarded them with much curiosity. Though their 
cheek-bones were rather high and their foreheads rather 
low, they were by no means uncomely, and their ex- 
pression was amiable and good-humoured. They were 
relatively tall, almost as tall as the men, seemed physi- 
cally nearly as strong, and their skin, except where it 
had been bronzed by the sun, was as white as that of a 
blonde European. The dress of these maidens consisted 
of a loose-fitting jacket or bodice of quilted calico, 
laced in front with scarlet cord, and a skirt of the same 
material reaching a little below the knee. Their shapely 
legs and well-formed feet were innocent of shoes and 
stockings. Their hair, drawn back from the forehead, 
was done up in a bunch and fastened with a pair of 
silver skewers, while round their necks were strung orna- 
ments in gold and bone, which I believe were charms. 

I have said that I looked at these feminine Phantoms 
curiously. They returned my glances with interest, but 


PHANTOMLAND AT LAST. 


165 


more in fear than curiosity. If I had been a veritable 
phantom, fresh from the invisible world, they could not 
have shown more apprehension. When I rose and 
stretched out my arm to take one of the cups, their 
trepidation increased. The younger girl fairly turned 
tail and ran towards the house. The father — for 
such I took my conductor to be — laughed heartily, and 
shouted something which I did not understand ; where- 
upon the fugitive came back, and, still eyeing me 
furtively, handed me a cup of what I found to he 
delicious chocolate. The cakes were of maize, and 
very eatable. 

I expressed my thanks, both by word and sign, and 
the girls, seeing that I ate and drank like a creature of 
flesh and blood, gathered confidence, and watched me 
with great interest. What seemed most to strike them 
were my hairy face and tall stature. Inferring from their 
manner and a few phrases which I partially understood 
that they doubted whether my beard was a part of my 
dress or a part of myself, I gave it a good tug, and 
signed to them to do the same. After a good deal of 
hesitation they laughingly complied, yet very cautiously 
withal, as if they were pulling the whiskers of a sleep- 
ing tiger. Seeing, however, that I neither bit nor 
scratched, they grew bolder, and pulled so hard that I 
winced, and said “ Oh ! whereupon they laughed again. 
A touch of nature makes us all akin. We were thence- 
forth on the most friendly footing possible, and the fair 
Phantoms pushed their investigation to the length of 


166 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


feeling what there was beneath the beard, being 
evidently under the impression that the purpose of the 
adornment might be to conceal the absence of chin and 
lips. 

Our philandering was interrupted by a shout from 
the bystanders, who had been amused spectators of the 
scene. They were talking earnestly and pointing to the 
lake. Looking in the same direction, I saw two large 
boats, each manned by some half-dozen rowers, making 
rapidly for the nearest strand, which was only a few 
hundred yards from the cottage. When the boats took 
ground the crews jumped out, formed in military order, 
and, headed by one who appeared to be in authority, 
came on at a rapid swinging pace, which spoke well for 
their marching powers. All had bows slung at their 
backs, sheaves of arrows at their girdles, and each man 
was further armed with spear and shield. 

The officer in command of the party was much more 
richly and picturesquely attired than the peasants among 
whom I had fallen. His helmet- shaped hat was covered 
with plates of gold, his tunic embroidered with beauti- 
ful feather-work, and his kilt adorned with bronze and 
silver rings. His arms were a spear and a slender 
gold-hilted sword, so slender indeed as to suggest that 
it was intended rather for ornament than use. 

As touching his person, this Phantom gentleman 
was about five and a half feet high, and somewhat 
slightly built; in complexion he was fairer than the 
peasants around me, and his hands and feet (he wore 


PHANTOMLAND AT LAST. 


167 


sandals, no stockings) were as small and delicate as those 
of a woman. 

When he came opposite the aloe -tree I rose, and, 
drawing myself to my full height, looked him straight in 
the face. Though I could see that he was as much 
surprised by my appearance as the others had been, 
he returned my look without flinching, and, after a 
moment’s hesitation, saluted me, by putting his hand 
on the ground and then on his head. I returned the 
greeting in the same fashion, not without a sense of 
satisfaction ; for, though I knew nothing of Phantom 
etiquette, I had an idea — which subsequent observation 
confirmed — that by giving the first salute the officer 
virtually acknowledged me as his superior. 

That he was come to arrest me I had not the 
slightest doubt, and I had no intention of offering resist- 
ance — my only way of getting on with these people was 
to make friends of them — but I thought it good policy 
to show a firm front, and let them see that I expected to 
be treated with “ distinguished consideration.” 

The saluting over, the officer said something which 
I made out to be an inquiry as to who I was, whence I 
came, and what I wanted. At any rate, if he did not 
say this he ought to have done. I answered in Mayan 
that I was a traveller from the rising sun (pointing to 
the east), and wanted to see the Phantom City (pointing 
towards the island) . He seemed puzzled — pretty much 
as a man does when he is trying to guess a hard riddle 
— but I thought he understood me better than the 


168 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


rustics had done. I marked that at the words “ rising 
sun*’ he bowed, and when I said “the city where 
Phantoms dwell 33 he smiled. I found afterwards that 
it was part of the Phantom religion to bow whenever 
the sun was mentioned. 

The officer replied in a little speech, of which I 
understood precious little, but his gestures were so 
expressive that I could not mistake his meaning. He 
wanted me to go with him. But as I had a decided 
objection to going without my kit I pointed to my 
balloon, and, without waiting for an answer, led the way 
in that direction. He and his men followed closely 
after, and, if I had increased my speed much, it is 
more than likely that I should have the points of their 
spears in the small of my back. 

But I walked with great deliberation. When we 
reached the cocoa-tree I took hold of the ropes by 
which I had come down, began to pull, and signified 
that I should like a little help in the operation. It was 
forthcoming at once, .and in a few minutes we had the 
car of the balloon on a level with the ground. I 
detached it, and made the officer understand that I 
would like the car, with all it contained, to be carried 
down to the boat. He said a few words to his men, 
whereupon five or six of them raised the basket on 
their heads and walked solemnly with it to the boats, 
the officer and myself bringing up the rear. 


169 


CHAPTER XVII. 

util: lord of light. 

I took my seat in the stern, near the officer, who took 
the tiller, which was simply a paddle pierced with a 
hole near the handle and moving on a wooden pin. The 
planks forming the canoe-shaped boat were fastened 
with wooden pins, and as I had seen no sign of iron of 
any description, I concluded that the most useful of the 
metals was either unknown or little used in Phantom- 
land. The oars were paddles cut in two — a proof that 
the art of rowing had been only recently acquired — and 
nearly all the boats we met or passed were either canoe- 
shaped or real canoes, and propelled in the ordinary 
Indian fashion. 

Now that I was in it, the country looked much 
larger than it had looked from the balloon, when it was 
contrasted with the vast region round about. So did 
the lake, which seemed to empty itself into a river at 
the lower or southern end of the valley, where it was 
closed by a rugged volcanic peak, from whose summit 
rose a thick, dark line of smoke. I fancied it was the 
same which I had seen from the balloon. 

The hanks of the lake were extremely picturesque. 
Great trees, conspicuous among which was the graceful 


170 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


corypha palm, and flowering shrubs, bent over its white 
sands and blue waters, while fields of yellow maize, in- 
terspersed with groves of aloe, cocoa, and coffee trees, 
and dotted with farm-houses, stretched to the base of 
the mountains and climbed half-way up their slopes. 
The flora was that of the tier r a tempi ada , the valley 
being nearly four thousand feet above the level of the 
sea — a fortunate circumstance for the Phantoms, as, 
though the soil was fertile and the climate genial, they 
could not well have lived without regular labour and 
systematic agriculture. 

I observed with surprise that many of the houses 
were built over the lake, resting on piles, like the 
ancient lacustrine villages of Central Europe with which 
the researches of Swiss antiquaries have made us familiar. 
I found out afterwards that the lines of islets which 
extended from the island to either bank were equally 
artificial. But though inhabited, their most important 
office was to serve as links in a causeway, each islet 
being united to its fellow by a suspension bridge, suf- 
ficiently high to admit of the passage of boats. 

Though the oars were clumsy, the Phantom boatmen 
handled them with great dexterity, and an hour’s pulling 
brought us to the north end of the island. So far as I 
could judge, it was about three miles long, and from one 
to two broad, in shape almost oval, and indented with bays 
and inlets. The lower part was covered with luxuriant 
vegetation, flower-gardens, and noble trees ; the higher 
part, which rose well-nigh five hundred feet above the 


ixtil: lord of light. 


171 


level of the lake, was crowned with stately buildings, 
chief of which were three pyramidal towers not unlike 
the one I had seen at the ruins in the forest. The tallest, 
as I afterwards learned, was the observatory. Near it 
were the ruins of an ancient fort, almost hidden under a 
mass of verdure ; and several imposing edifices which I 
took to he temples and palaces. Built of huge un- 
polished blocks of beautiful white stone, they literally 
shone like frosted, silver, and, when viewed from a dis- 
tance, their appearance might well give rise to the idea 
that they were covered with plates of the precious 
metal. The roofs were flat, and the fa9ades and en- 
tablatures elaborately carved into strange shapes and 
grotesque images, among which were figures of beasts 
and birds, and monstrous and hideous human faces. 

The Phantom City was Palenque, Uxmal, Chichen- 
Itza, or the ruins in the forest, restored, or as they 
would be had they never fallen into decay. 

The boats were moored to a wooden jetty, and we 
were received by an officer not above five feet three inches 
high, whose tunic and kilt seemed to be made almost 
entirely of feather-work, and whose sword was sus- 
pended to a sort of baldrick composed of alternate plates 
of gold and bronze. His manner was highly dignified, 
and his silver-grey hair gave him a decidedly European 
appearance. It would have required no great effort of 
imagination to believe that he was an actor, “ got up ” 
for playing a part in an opera or a comedy. 

After exchanging a few words with my conductor, he 


m 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


saluted me in the manner I have already described ; and 
when I had returned the courtesy he pointed towards 
the city, which was almost immediately above us, and 
led the way up a broad flight of steps, winding among 
groves of pepper and vanilla myrtles, orange and rose 
trees, and over ground mantled with a profusion of 
creeping plants, whose emerald verdure might vie with 
the greenest of English meadows. 

Ten minutes’ easy walking brought us to the out- 
skirts of the city — a city, however, in the European 
sense of the word, it could hardly be considered. There 
were paths and roads — the latter in singularly good 
order — but no streets, the houses being scattered about, 
seemingly at haphazard, some perched on terraces or 
half-hidden in groves, others nestling in hollows ; yet 
the general effect was singularly striking and pictur- 
esque. The smaller dwellings were built of red pine or 
(as I guessed) mahogany and rosewood, and thatched 
with maguey leaves ; the larger, of grey -white stone, flat- 
roofed, with interior courts, where grew shrubs and 
flower-trees in rich profusion. The principal entrances 
were in every case wide, without door or gate, and arched, 
the 'crowns being obtuse, and the sides zig-zagged, 
like steps upside down. 

Nearly at the top of the hill rose a vast edifice, built 
on a natural platform of rock, to which access was 
gained by a flight of a hundred steps, each eighty feet 
wide. In front of it was a noble colonnade, sup- 
porting a cyclopean entablature, covered with strange 


IXTIL : LORD OF LIGHT. 


173 


figures and mysterious devices in relief. The pillars 
of the colonnade were square, each being composed of 
several enormous stones. 

Up the steps went my guide — I with him — the other 
officers and the men-at-arms following with the car con- 
taining my belongings. 

There were four principal entrances, two wide and 
spacious, flanked by two others which, though large, were 
somewhat smaller. We went in by one of the latter; 
and after passing through a great hall and several lofty 
corridors, came to a room which, for a moment, I 
thought was a sculpture gallery. On either side of a 
doorway, curtained with a piece of variegated matting, 
stood a line of nearly nude figures, each holding a spear 
and a shield, and so still and motionless that they might 
well have been mistaken for inanimate figures. 

To one of these statues my conductor spoke a few 
words in an under-tone ; whereupon all wakened to life, 
and, raising their shields by a single movement, struck 
them simultaneously with their spears, then subsided 
once more into statuesque stillness. 

The echo of this martial yet not unmusical clash 
had hardly died away when an answering ring, like a 
single stroke on a silver bell, came from beyond the 
screen. On this the officer, drawing aside the matting, 
beckoned me forward. I went forward accordingly, 
and found myself in a moderately large apartment, 
the walls of which were hung with arras of feather- work, 
and the floor carpeted with puma and jaguar skins. 


174 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


At a large table, in the middle of this room, sat 
a man with one of the most remarkable faces I 
ever beheld. Fair as a European, his broad forehead, 
aquiline nose, and square jaws, bespoke both high 
intelligence and a powerful will. His rather deep- 
sunken eyes were dark and piercing, yet neither hard 
nor cruel, and when he smiled his expression was 
benevolent and winning. In the middle of his fore- 
head was tattooed a star, surmounted by the emblem of 
a lighted torch. His black hair was beginning to 
assume the peculiar silvery hue which among aboriginal 
American races is the mark of advancing years ; but his 
general appearance was that of a man comparatively 
young and in the prime of life. 

My companion, who followed closely after me, 
removed his helmet, touched the ground with one 
knee and one hand, and then, still stooping, laid the 
latter on his head. The personage at the table ac- 
knowledged the obeisance with an almost imperceptible 
nod. Acting on the principle I had already laid down 
for myself, I merely doffed my hat and bowed. The 
personage, looking, however, rather surprised, bowed in 
return ; and, after putting a question to me which I did 
not understand, put several to the officer, which, I 
need hardly say, I found equally incomprehensible, and 
talked with him several minutes. 

Then he spoke to me again. I answered him in 
Mayan, as I had answered the officer at the farm- 
house. 


ixtil: lord of light. 


175 


The personage listened with great attention, and, I 
thought, understood much of what I said. He seemed 
pleased, pointed to a hieroglyphic manuscript on the 
table, and then, taking a small brush, drew with a few 
rapid strokes a man and a small boy, the former holding 
up his hand, the latter opening his mouth. 

There was no difficulty in understanding this. I 
answered in Mayan— 

“ Teach a child to talk." 

The personage smiled again, and I gathered that he 
meant to teach me, or have me taught, the Phantom 
language. I wanted nothing better. On this the little 
officer put in a word, and, at a sign from the personage, 
the screen was drawn aside, and the men-at-arms, who 
had been waiting outside, brought in the car. 

The personage, or — to give him his right name and 
title, Ixtil, the Lord of Light — inspected its contents 
with great interest. I respectfully presented him with 
a many-bladed knife, one of several which I had brought 
with me, and the telescope. If the former pleased him, the 
latter charmed him beyond measure. I had some trouble 
in adjusting the focus to his sight, but when every- 
thing was in order, and he had taken a look at the 
boats on the lake, and the trees and houses on its banks, 
he could hardly speak for surprise, so far forgetting his 
dignity as to clap his hands and make other rather 
effusive demonstrations of astonishment and delight. 

After amusing himself in this way for a short time, 
he pointed skyward and then touched the star on his 


176 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


forehead, by which I understood him to ask whether the 
telescope could he used for viewing the heavenly bodies. 
When I answered in the affirmative, he seemed quite 
overjoyed, and offered me his hand, as I presumed, in 
token of his royal favour. If I had been as conversant 
with Phantom court etiquette as I subsequently became 
I should have bowed low and pressed the hand to my 
forehead ; but in my ignorance I gave it a hearty shake, 
in the fashion of my country — a proceeding which 
seemed to take the Cacique* quite aback, and so horrified 
the little officer that I thought he would have expired 
on the spot. 

While this was going on another personage appeared 
on the scene — a short, squat, square-shouldered man, 
clad in a robe somewhat resembling a Roman toga, 
which left his arms and legs bare. Suspended round 
his neck by a gold chain was a massive green stone, 
probably jade or nephrite, on which were engraven queer- 
looking signs and mysterious symbols. To say that 
he was ill-favoured would be paying him an unmerited 
compliment. Eyes so deep-sunken as to be hardly 
visible, no forehead worth mentioning, a broad, flat 
nose, sallow skin, huge mouth, undershot lip, and great 
serrated teeth, made him positively hideous. Had he 
been a little shorter he would have made a capital model 

* I use this word (of Haytian origin) merely because it is the 
generally received designation of an American prince ; but Ixtil was 
always addressed by his people as the Lord of Light, and, like every 
other Phantom, invariably spoke of himself in the third person. 


ixtil: lord of light. 


177 


for the Demon Dwarf of Victor Hugo's celebrated 
romance. 

This Caliban — I may as well introduce him at once., 
though I had not as yet the pleasure of his acquaint- 
ance — was Cochitemi, high-priest of the Temple of the 
Sun. 

He looked at me with an evil eye, and, after making 
the usual obeisance, addressed himself to the Cacique. I 
had not the least doubt that I was the subject of his 
remarks, and I felt instinctively that they boded me 
no good. He seemed to be urging on Ixtil some course 
of action which the latter refused to adopt, for the 
Cacique's countenance lowered, and he answered the 
priest firmly, almost angrily. 

After some further conversation Cochitemi left the 
presence, looking as black as thunder and as ugly as 
the night. 

Ixtil, who seemed annoyed, and, I thought, a little 
troubled, beckoned me to him, showed me the picture of 
the man and boy, also another of a man eating, and of 
a hammock, and, pointing to the officer, gave him an 
order. Then he waved his hand towards the screen, and 
said a few more words to the officer, whom he addressed 
as Coxoh. 

This signified that the audience was over, and that 
I was to be the Cacique's guest, and begin my education 
forthwith. 

So we took our leave, and, after a bewildering walk 
through many passages, arrived before another screen, 

M 


178 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


which my companion drew aside with scant ceremony, 
and ushered me into a room where a dim-eyed old 
gentleman sat reading a large scroll covered with hiero- 
glyphics. This was Melchora — a great scholar, and one 
of the Cacique's secretaries, to whom Coxoh introduced 
me in due form, and communicated his master's com- 
mands — at any rate I presumed so. Then he made the 
usual salute, and left us to ourselves. 

He had not been gone long when two servitors 
entered the room, carrying on two platters a dish of 
deliciously-cooked fish, on the other yams, fried 
bananas, pineapples, and avocada pears, to which they 
called my attention, and to which, being by this time 
half famished, I did ample justice. 

As I was finishing my repast the screen was again 
drawn aside, and four soldiers entered with the car. I 
looked inside and found everything intact. 

The Cacique is a gentleman, I thought; and so he 
proved. 


179 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE MAIDEN TRIBUTE. 

Melchora was a sort of Phantom Mezzofanti. No 
man in the country knew so many Indian dialects as 
he, and when there came to the city forest Indians 
who could not make themselves understood, he was 
always called upon to interpret. Though a priest of 
the order of the sun, Melchora €t occupied no posi- 
tion in the church,” his time being entirely taken 
up with his secretarial duties and linguistic and his- 
toric researches. He had a fine collection of ancient 
manuscripts, and could read hieroglyphics which even 
to his brethren of the craft were insoluble enigmas. 
He knew nothing of Mayan, but his knowledge of 
cognate idioms enabled him to understand much that 
I said, and so to express himself that after a little prac- 
tice I could make out what he meant. 

Under Melchora's tuition I made rapid progress in 
Phantom. My principal difficulties were the differences 
in pronounciation between Phantom and Mayan, and 
the fact that, despite their undoubted kinship, the 
former was so much the more developed of the two. 
It had passed the hyposynthetical stage, possessed many 
inflections, lent itself readily to the expression of abstract 
m 2 


180 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


ideas, and was altogether a rich and not unmusical 
tongue. But it is surprising how quickly you can learn 
a language if you do nothing else, and are forced either 
to make yourself understood in it or be dumb. My 
hammock was slung in Melchora's room. I was almost 
continually with him, and every day he had in two 
or three children, with whom I romped and chatted; 
and by listening to their prattle, and saying the same 
thing over and over again, I soon acquired considerable 
facility of expression. 

Every day, moreover, I paid a visit to the Cacique, 
who seemed well satisfied with my progress, to which 
he effectually contributed, for, being naturally quick 
of apprehension, he helped me when I stuck fast, often 
grasping the meaning of my broken sentences before 
they were well out of my mouth. 

Ixtil was a man of inquiring mind, and so soon as 
we could fairly understand each other, I had to give a 
full account of myself — whence I came, why I had 
come to the Phantom City, how I contrived to navigate 
the air, and much else. 

I told him frankly the essential parts of my story, 
and rather to my surprise I found it easier to make the 
Cacique understand how a balloon could be made to 
float in the air than the curiosity which had prompted 
a man who had all the world to roam in, to undergo so 
many perils and privations in order to see his remote 
and insignificant principality. Anything relating to 
science interested him greatly, and I had little difficulty 


THE MAIDEN TRIBUTE. 


181 


in explaining to him the use and nature of my thermo- 
meter, barometer, and sextant, as well as the mechanism 
of my watch. 

About astronomy Ixtil knew more than I did. The 
three pyramids I have mentioned were built expressly 
for astronomical and astrological purposes : the Phan- 
toms’ arrangement of time was decidedly more scientific 
and complex than that which prevails in Christian 
countries, and they had remedies in their pharmacopoeia ; 
which I deeply regret that circumstances have not yet 
permitted me to place at the disposal of my English 
colleagues. 

I am now merely describing my adventures. I 
reserve for another and more serious work an account 
of the history, religion, mythology, social economy, and 
political organisation of this remarkable people ; yet in 
order to make my readers understand my position in 
Phantomland, and the events that afterwards came to 
pass, I am compelled to bring to their knowledge a few 
facts which, though they concern my narrative only 
indirectly, will, I trust, prove not uninteresting. 

Let me say, then, that, after frequent conversations 
with Ixtil and Melchora and reading some of the latter’s 
hieroglyphic codices, I came to the conclusion that the 
Phantoms were an offshoot of that mysterious Toltec 
race which, after extending its sway over the re- 
motest borders of Anahuac, and raising wonderful 
temples and cities in nearly every part of Central 
America, silently disappeared and its places knew it 


182 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


no more. The Aztec invasion completed their ruin, and 
those of them who did not perish in the struggle became 
either the slaves or the concubines of their conquerors. 
Some, however, took refuge in the forests and moun- 
tains, which are still haunted by their savage and de- 
generate, yet unsubdued descendants, to whom were no 
doubt afterwards added a number of Aztec fugitives from 
the cruelty and oppression of the Spanish invaders. 

A chosen few, probably belonging to the higher and 
more cultured classes of the Toltec nation, after long 
wandering in the wilderness, reached the land which 
I had discovered, and founded the state of which Ixtil 
was the lord. 

This, however, was not the orthodox theory. Ac- 
cording to the story promulgated by the priests and 
believed by the people, they were descended from the 
Sun God, who sent two of his progeny down to the 
valley for the express purpose of becoming the [first 
parents of the race. The Phantoms were thus, as they 
thought, really and in very fact Children of Light, and 
the country where they dwelt was known among them- 
selves and the wild Indians of the forest as the Land 
of Light. They worshipped the sun as their father and 
creator, adored light in every shape as an emanation 
from him, and the moon and all other heavenly bodies 
as his satellites and servants. 

Fire, however, unless kindled directly or indirectly 
by the sun, they regarded as maleficent; it was pro- 
duced and controlled by the demon gods of the nether 


THE MAIDEN TRIBUTE. 


183 


world, who, unless propitiated in a way I shall pre- 
sently describe, would utterly destroy the Children of 
Light before the Sun God could come to their help. 

On the island were three great temples dedicated 
respectively to the sun, the moon, and the stars, and a 
fourth which was known as the Temple of the Cross. 
According to tradition the last was specially dedicated 
to the group of stars popularly known in Europe as the 
Southern Cross, but it had more probably its origin in 
the tree and serpent worship practised by nearly every 
primitive people, the cross in this case being merely 
the rude representation of a tree. This idea was con- 
firmed by the fact that round one of the crosses sculp- 
tured on the walls of the temple was entwined the 
figure of a gigantic snake. 

Ixtil was too enlightened to place much faith in 
these legends. He knew that the stars and planets 
were not the satellites of the sun, and though he be- 
lieved in a Great Spirit, he did not believe that the sun 
was a god or that demon deities haunted the lower 
world; but he had very good reason for keeping his 
scepticism to himself, and his real sentiments were 
known only to a few of his intimates, among whom 
I had soon the honour to be numbered. 

Though in theory an absolute ruler, the Cacique 
enjoyed little more real power than if he had been the 
chief of a limited monarchy. He had to defer continu- 
ally to the pretensions of the priests and the superstitions 
of his people, for religion was a great influence in the 


184 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Phantom State. In the time of IxtiFs grandfather the 
church was everything, the Cacique the merest figure- 
head; but Moqui, the Cacique in question, a man of 
great energy and independence of character, after a long 
and severe contest, succeeded in partly freeing himself 
from sacerdotal fetters, and his son and grandson fol- 
lowed without flinching the example he had set them. 

But the servants of the sun, moon, and stars (as the 
priests called themselves), so far from accepting their 
defeat with resignation, were continually striving to 
regain their former power and revive the rites and cere- 
monies which the three reforming Caciques had modified 
or abolished. The leader of the reactionary party was 
Cochitemi, whom, though Ixtil cordially detested, he 
did not think it politic openly to defy. 

One of these demands was for the re-establishment 
of human sacrifices on something like their former scale, 
for though the Toltec ritual was never so sanguinary 
as that of the Aztecs, there had been a time when men 
and women were slaughtered on the altars of Phantom 
temples. But the Children of Light not being of a cruel 
disposition, the sacrifices were gradually abolished — 
all save one, which Ixtil and his father had, however, 
striven to render as little revolting as circumstances 
permitted. This was the propitiatory rite which I have 
already mentioned, and therein, though I knew it not, 
was involved my own fate and that of Ixtil himself. 

According to the doctrine taught by the priests, the 
tenure by the Phantoms of their country, their very 


THE MAIDEN TRIBUTE. 


185 


existence even, was contingent on the yearly sacrifice to 
the fire demon of that which they held most precious. 

This precious object was declared by sacred tradition 
to he a maiden of high degree and marriageable age. 

Above the altar of every temple in Phantomland was 
painted in hieroglyphic characters a legend which may 
be freely Englished as follows : — 

“ When Light the tribute fails to give, 

The sun-bom race shall cease to live.” 

And except Ixtil and a few others, nobody doubted that 
if the rite should be omitted the penalty would be 
required. 

The old method of sacrifice was to throw the living 
victim into the crater of the volcano at the foot of the 
lake. But when Ixtil became Cacique one of his first 
acts was to ordain that she should first be put to death 
in a way I shall have occasion to describe later on. As 
it was firmly believed that the least departure from the 
prescribed ritual would be punished by a destructive 
outbreak of the volcano, this proceeding naturally 
caused considerable commotion among both priests and 
people ; but as no evil consequences had so far come to 
pass, the popular discontent was gradually subsiding, 
and had it not been kept alive by Cochitemi and his 
party, the innovation would have met with general 
acquiescence. 

I am by no means sure, however, that in the course 
he took the Cacique was influenced by merely sentimental 


186 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


considerations. Notwithstanding the serenity o£ his 
temper and the mildness of his rule, it never struck me 
that he had any great sympathy for suffering or respect 
for human life. But according to the tradition in ques- 
tion, sanctioned by the practice of ages, it was impera- 
tive for the sacrifice to be made by the Cacique himself, 
and without having very fine feelings, Ixtil may well 
have had a personal dislike for a function which in- 
volved throwing a young girl, bound hand and foot, 
headlong into the crater of a volcano. This, and a desire 
to score a triumph over the priests, were doubtless his 
principal motives for venturing to modify a rite on which 
his own life and the very existence of the Phantom State 
were believed to depend. 


187 


CHAPTER XIX. 

THE CACIQUE'S PROMISE. 

The victim for sacrifice was not selected from tlie people 
at large, but in order, I suppose, to comply with the 
condition of preciousness, from the twenty or thirty 
families known as the Children of the Caciques, all of 
whom were descended from former ruling princes, and 
who constituted the nobility of the country. But out of 
consideration for the Cacique, who had himself to per- 
form the function, his own family could only be required 
to furnish a victim in the hitherto unheard-of, yet not 
impossible, event of there being in none of the other 
princely families a girl with the necessary qualifications 
— that is to say, one who had completed her sixteenth 
year, and was free from bodily infirmity. 

The selection was made by lot. 

The annual slaughter of an innocent child in defer- 
ence to a cruel and stupid superstition, horrified me 
exceedingly’; and when Ixtil began to take me into his 
confidence and consult me, not only as to matters of 
science, but touching affairs of state, one of the first 
things I did was to beseech him to abolish the rite 
altogether. 

u That is something like asking Ixtil to abolish him- 


188 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


self,, and very likely the Land of Light, too,” said the 
Cacique, with a smile. 

“You surely do not believe,” I exclaimed, “that 
there can be any possible connection between the qui- 
escence of the volcano and the throwing into it of a 
poor child's body ! Volcanoes are the outlet of under- 
ground fires, and their activity or otherwise can no more 
be influenced by what we do or say than the rising or 
setting of the sun.” 

“ That is all very true. The legend is an old wife's 
tale, like most of our priestly lore, and if you can prevail 
on the Children of Light and the wild men of the woods 
to think as you think, Txtil will set the priests at 
defiance and do as you desire.” 

“ The wild men of the woods ! What have they to 
do with it ? ” 

“Ah, wise stranger from the east, you have seen 
many things that Ixtil will never behold, and know 
much that he will never learn, but you are not the Lord 
of Light, and know not the difficulties with which he 
has to contend. The wild men of the woods count for 
much in his calculations ; if he be not prudent they may 
become his most dangerous enemies, and are more to be 
feared than Cochitemi and his fellow-priests, even if 
they should do their worst.” 

“But I thought these wild men of the woods, the 
Choles, Manches, Lacandones, Iztaes, and the rest, were 
friends and allies, and guarded the Land of Light from 
the intrusion of enemies and strangers ? ” 


THE CACIQUE^ PROMISE. 


189 


“ It is true, and the City of Light is to them a 
sacred city. At the festival of the Sun God and the 
propitiatory rite they flock here in thousands, and worship 
devoutly in our temples. But our hold over them is 
entirely religious, and any material alteration of our 
rites and ceremonies they would fiercely resent. If 
Ixtil should abolish the sacrifice, as you desire, his power 
over them would be gone; they would despise him, 
and, with the help of the priests, set up another in his 
place. This Cochitemi knows, and it is the secret of his 
strength." 

“ But your own people. Cacique, would they not 
stand by you : they seem docile, submissive, and 
loyal?" 

“ It is true. Yes, Ixtil's people are good ; but the 
docility you so much admire is his chief difficulty. 
Their lives are easy and peaceful ; they have lost the 
habit of warfare, and in a fight with the fierce men of the 
woods would go down like ripe corn before the reaper. 
True, Ixtil's guards would stand by him to the death, 
but they are very few. To abolish the rite would not 
only cost him his life but restore the priesthood to the 
position they occupied in the time of the Cuzcucano, 
and instead of one human sacrifice a year there would 
be twenty. Ixtil does not think that it would be the 
part of a wise ruler to buy at so great a price the lives 
of a few girls. They die for their country ; what can 
they do better ? " 

This closed the discussion; yet, though I did not 


190 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


think I should do much good, I resolved to renew the 
subject whenever a favourable occasion should present 
itself. 

In the meanwhile I broached another subject 
which had been long on my mind, and in which I took 
even a greater interest than in the sacrificial rite — the 
fate of my lost friends. I had already given the Cacique 
an account of my adventures in the forest, and I now 
asked him if he thought it was possible that Wildfell 
and the others were still alive.” 

“ Possible, perhaps, but not very likely,” was the 
answer. “Our savage allies make it a rule to let no 
stranger whatever come near the Land of Light, and 
you are the only one who has succeeded in reaching our 
country. For we know, and they know, that our safety 
depends on our isolation. They know that if Christians 
were allowed to come here with their civilisation and 
their creed, our race would perish and our religion be 
destroyed. Tales of Spanish cruelty and oppression 
have reached us even here. No wonder, then, that the 
wild men kill all strangers whom they find in their ter- 
ritory — and they do quite right. Still, they do some- 
times make slaves of their captives, instead of putting 
them to death, and it is just possible that your friends 
still live.” 

“ I should like much, very much, to know if they 
do,” I said eagerly. 

“ And if they do, what then ? ” 

“ I should like to see them, to have them brought 


THE CACIQUE'S PROMISE. 


191 


here/' I answered, greatly surprised that the Cacique 
should ask such a question. 

“ You would ! Ixtil is not sure that you would be 
doing right. However, you are a wise man, and these 
men are your friends, and you are his friend — and, yes, 
he will cause inquiries to be made. Two moons hence 
the festival of the Sun God will be celebrated; the wild 
people will flock hither from all the winds, and Mel- 
chora, the scribe, and Yaqui, the captain of the royal 
guard, shall ask many questions on your behalf. It 
may be that they will hear something of these wanderers 
— whether they are alive or dead — and then we shall see. 
Tell Ixtil, as exactly as you can, whereabouts lay these 
ruins of which you speak. There are many such ves- 
tiges of the vanished greatness of our race between the 
smoking mountain and the great river." 

I answered the question to the best of my ability, 
illustrating my description with a rough sketch of the 
route I had taken and the region I had traversed. 

“ How many days’ journey are the ruins from the 
point where you first sighted the river?" asked the' 
Cacique. 

“ Eight." 

“ That is the time you took. A man of the woods, 
familiar with the country, would probably reckon it at 
no more than four days. And the people who carried off 
your friends were Choles, you say ? " 

“ I believe so. At any rate, Pedro, our Indian 
guide, said we were in the Chole country at the time ; 


192 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


but, as he was never there before, he may possibly have 
been mistaken.” 

“They were more probably Iztaes. But strict in- 
quiry shall be made, and after the festival of the Sun 
god Ixtil may have news for you.” 

This conversation made me put on my considering 
cap. I began to think that the Cacique knew more 
about the fate of my friends and our abortive expedition 
than he chose to avow. What did he mean? Why 
had he hinted that if they were still alive they had 
better stay where they were ? How could their condi- 
tion become worse by exchanging slavery among savages 
for freedom in the Land of Light ? Or had Ixtil some 
secret motive for desiring them not to join me ? 

But, be the reading of the riddle what it might, my 
duty was clear. Wildfell and the others had lost their 
liberty in my service, and if, as seemed probable, they 
still lived, I was bound by every consideration of honour 
and humanity to attempt their rescue, even though in 
doing so I should lose my own life. Yet, until I knew 
more, I could make no move whatever. 

There was nothing for it but to wait until Ixtil had 
found out and thought fit to tell me. In the meanwhile 
my best policy was to spare no pains to keep up our 
present friendly relations, and, if possible, increase my 
hold over him. In this I did not think there would be 
any great difficulty, for, as the Lord of Light frankly 
admitted, he found me very useful and had a great 
liking for my company. On the other hand, I could 


THE CACIQUE'S PROMISE. 


193 


not disguise from myself that, in the long run, his 
partiality might not be altogether to my advantage. 
Phantomland interested me much, and I was anxious 
to make a thorough study of the singular people among 
whom my lot had been cast. But I had no idea of stay- 
ing among them for the term of my natural life, and I 
feared that when I wanted to leave, the Cacique might 
not he willing to let me go. The more useful I made 
myself the greater would be his reluctance to lose me, 
and without his consent it would be difficult to get 
away. The balloon was no longer available. True, 
Ixtil had sent for it to the village where I descended, 
and it was now in the palace ; but I could not put it 
together, make gas and the rest, without his knowledge ; 
the mere proposal of such a thing would be sufficient to 
rouse his suspicion, and, unless I misread his character, 
he would not hesitate a moment to take such measures 
as would render my departure impossible. For I could 
not hope to hoodwink the Lord of Light as I had hood- 
winked the corregidor of Peten, and Ixtil, though he had 
so far been kindness itself, possessed an acute mind and a 
strong will, and knew how to make himself obeyed. 

As for going away secretly and alone, that was out 
of the question. It would be going to certain death. 
Better remain in Phantomland until my head was 
white than fall into the hands of the wild men of the 
woods. And then it struck me that I was looking too 
far ahead. Short views of life are, after all, the best. 
People who take too much thought for the morrow not 


194 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


only embitter their lives with imaginary cares, but fail 
in their purpose, since the eventualities for which they 
provide are generally those which do not come to pass. 
I should be quite content to remain in Phantomland 
twelve or eighteen months longer. In that time much 
might happen. I had, fortunately, few kinsfolk at 
home — none whom my disappearance was likely to dis- 
tress; and I had particularly requested Dominick not 
to count me as dead until he knew I had ceased to live. 


195 


CHAPTER XX. 

A SHOCK FOR COCHJTEMI. 

In the meanwhile I had no reason to complain of my 
lot, and if I could have reconciled myself to a life-long 
exile I might have done worse than make the Land of 
Light my permanent home. The climate was delicious, 
for though the heat at noonday was often intense, the 
mornings and evenings, owing to the height of the 
valley above the level of the sea, were delightfully 
cool, while frequent, albeit not heavy, rains spared the 
Phantoms the infliction of a rainy season. The trees 
were always green, the crops always growing. 

Imagine an unusually warm English June, refreshed 
with nightly showers and following a forward spring, 
and you may form some idea of the climate of the Land 
of Light — a climate where spring was perpetual and 
winter unknown, where flowers were always in bloom 
and fruit always ripe, where men reaped and sowed on 
the same day, and where, though the husbandman could 
not live without labour, he never failed to receive his 
reward or the earth to yield its increase. 

A perfect climate, some may say ; yet for my own 
part I would rather live in a country where weather and 
temperature are rather less monotonous. You may have 
N 2 


196 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


too much even of a good thing, and I remained long 
enough in the tropics to sympathise with the British 
sailor who, after cruising several years in southern 
latitudes, expressed an ardent wish to go home, “ if only 
to get away from the confounded blue sky.” 

So far, however, my life in the Land of Light had 
been very pleasant, and my enjoyment of the climate 
was enhanced by the novelty of my position and the 
strangeness of my surroundings. I rose every morn- 
ing with the sun, and, after drinking a cup of delicious 
chocolate, I would walk down to the lake and have a 
long swim in its pellucid waters. Then back again 
to the palace, breakfast, and study a few hours with 
Melchora. At noon siesta, and in the afternoon I was 
generally sent for by the Cacique, with whom I had long 
and interesting talks, in the course of which I obtained 
much information about himself and his people. 

The Phantoms were, in many respects, an ideal com- 
munity. They had neither judges, lawyers, nor prisons, 
and knew no more of criminal codes than of cold 
weather. 

“ How do you deal with people who take what does 
not belong to them ? ” I asked the Cacique on one of 
these occasions. (The Phantoms have no word for thief.) 

“ IxtiPs people never do take what does not belong 
to them,” answered the Lord of Light, with a look of 
surprise. “ Why should they ? Everybody has all he 
requires — food, shelter, clothing ; what can a man want 
more ? ” 


A SHOCK FOE, COCHITEMI. 


197 


“ Money.** 

“ Money ! W e have none.” 

It was quite true. The Phantoms did not use 
money, and the little trade that existed was conducted 
by barter. But as by far the greater part of the popu- 
lation lived on the land, and as all the peasant families 
spun and wove their own clothing and made their own 
garments, it was very seldom they wanted anything 
which they did not produce at home. The houses were 
mostly of wood, thatched with maguey leaves ; the men 
were their own builders, and, in case of need, neighbours 
were always ready to lend a helping hand. 

Masons, gold and silver smiths, and other artificers 
were maintained by the State, and the national revenue 
was derived from contributions in kind made by the 
cultivators of the soil. The articles they produced were 
exchanged for cocoa, coffee, or maize, which was stored, 
until needed, in public warehouses. The gold and 
silver and tin and copper mines in the mountains were 
worked by the State on the same system. Iron, the 
Phantoms had none ; their tools and instruments were 
made of flint and bronze. Yet iron machetes , brought by 
forest Indians, were in use ; the Cacique had even a few 
guns, obtained in the same way, so that my rifle and 
revolver were not quite such novelties as I had ex- 
pected. 

The lordly or cacique families were all landed pro- 
prietors, and some of them had tenants, but there were 
no fixed rents; the tenants, after taking what they 


198 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


required for their own living, handed over the surplus 
to the owners of the soil. 

Laws, in the common acceptation of the word, did 
not exist ; but there were old customs which answered 
the same purpose, and to which everybody religiously 
conformed. Disputes were settled, on the principles of 
natural justice, by the Cacique, or by the head men of 
the villages in which they occurred, and their decisions 
were accepted without demur. 

There was a regular system of education. Children 
were taught to draw and read the common hieroglyphics, 
and instructed in their religious duties. 

The population of the valley, so far as I could 
gather, was about a hundred thousand; considering how 
long it had been settled, and its fine climate, a surpris- 
ingly small number. The chief cause of this slow rate 
of increase was undoubtedly the shortness of their lives. 
The Phantoms were so happy, their lives so peaceful, 
their cares so few, that their vitality did not receive 
the stimulus needful for longevity, and they became 
old at an age when Europeans are in the plenitude 
of their strength. It is the same with the Pitcairn 
Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of the Bounty, 
and the Christianised Indians of some of the “ missions ” 
organised by the Jesuits in certain districts of South 
America. These people, like the Phantoms, have no 
anxieties, live in a fine climate, and enjoy the best of 
health; yet they begin to age at thirty, and die of 
natural decay at forty. 


A. SHOCK FOR COCHITEMI. 


199 


The Cacique class, who took part in the work of 
government, and many of whom were scholars, as- 
tronomers, architects, and priests, lived almost twice 
as long as the common people. 

Another cause of the comparative paucity of the 
population was a peculiar system of infanticide. I 
noticed that the Phantoms, though short of stature, 
were almost invariably well made, and sound in wind, 
limb, and eye-sight. Hunchbacks, club-feet, people 
blind from their birth, there were none. But know- 
ing, as a medical man, that a certain proportion of 
children come into the world with congenital mal- 
formations and infirmities, and being curious as to 
what became of them, I one day asked Ixtil for an 
explanation of the mystery. 

“ Such children are occasionally born,” he said 
quietly, “ but they always die.” 

“ You mean they are put to death.” 
u They are put asleep and hot allowed to waken.” 

“ Oh, but that is horrible — killing poor little children 
because they happen to be deformed. You are a kind- 
hearted man. Lord of Light ; do you think this is right? ” 
“ Why not ? It is better for children born sightless, 
or otherwise imperfect, to die than to live — better both 
for themselves and others. They can never be happy ; 
and as they die before the beginning of conscious life 
death has no terrors for them, and they do not suffer. 
They sleep on, that is all. No — Ixtil does not think 
this is- wrong ; and it is an old custom.” 


200 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


After this nothing more was to be said, for in the 
Land of Light old customs, though they might con- 
ceivably become obsolete, were never discussed; but 
being curious on the point (for professional reasons), I 
asked the Cacique how the children doomed to death 
were sent asleep and prevented from awakening. 

“ Very easily,” was the answer. “ A cloth, satu- 
rated with corupa , is laid on the face, and life ebbs 
quietly away.” 

“ And the victim does not suffer ? ” 

“Not in the least. If such a cloth happened to fall 
on your face — by accident or otherwise — while you slept 
in your hammock, and was not removed within a few 
minutes, you would sleep on for ever, and never be 
the wiser.” 

" A strange way of putting it, Cacique,” I answered, 
rather startled by this suggestion. “ I hope no such 
accident will befall either of us. But what is this 
corupa like ? I should like to see it.” 

“ Nothing easier. Ask Melchora. He is learned 
in drugs as well as in hieroglyphics. He doubtless 
has some. It is distilled from a rather rare plant, 
which grows near the foot of the smoking mountain.” 

I reserve a full account of corupa for the scientific 
work which — as I have already mentioned — I propose 
shortly to publish; but I may mention here that the 
drug in question, as I afterwards found, is a subtle 
and powerful anaesthetic, producing insensibility much 
more rapidly than either chloroform or sulphuric ether, 


A SHOCK FOR COCHITEMI. 


201 


and that though long-continued inhalation is fatal, it 
may be breathed for two or three minutes with im- 
punity, and without causing any other ill-effect than 
a little nausea and an hour's headache. When diluted 
with half its bulk of alcohol, the inhalation may be 
continued eight minutes without danger, and insensi- 
bility prolonged at pleasure. But if the cloth be 
well saturated, and the mouth and nostrils completely 
covered, a child becomes insensible to pain in thirty 
seconds, an adult in sixty. The most remarkable 
property of compa, however, is its power of causing 
local anaesthesia. This property was quite unknown 
to the Phantoms, and I accidentally discovered it in a 
way which I shall presently relate. 

But Ixtil was much more given to asking questions 
than giving answers. The philosophical instruments I 
had brought with me were a never-failing source of 
interest to him — above all, the telescope and the little 
magneto-electric machine. The former was a revelation, 
the latter a mystery. He insisted on having it pulled 
to pieces ; and after his first alarm — and he was very 
much alarmed — he was always either taking a shock 
himself or giving me one. 

And then a bright idea struck him, which for 
neither of us, however, had the happiest of results. 
There was nobody Ixtil so much detested as Cochitemi, 
and had the latter been a less important personage he 
would certainly have felt the weight of the Cacique's 
displeasure; for the high-priest of the Temple of the 


202 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Sun was not only the head of the reactionary party, but 
proud and conceited to the last degree, haughty in his 
manner even to Ixtil himself, who thought it would be 
a fine thing, and a fitting punishment for his insolence, 
to astonish Cochitemi's weak nerves by sending a smart 
current of electricity through his fat person. 

The Cacique wanted me to perform the operation ; 
but on the ground that it would not be seemly for 
a stranger to take so great a liberty with so exalted a 
personage, I begged leave to be excused. 

“ Fairhair ” (the name given me by the Phantoms) 
“is quite right,” said the Cacique, after a moment's 
thought. “ Everything considered, Ixtil had perhaps 
better do it himself. The high-priest comes to-morrow 
with several of his colleagues, an hour before sunrise, to 
consult with the Lord of Light touching the arrange- 
ments now in progress for celebrating the festival of the 
Sun God. Ixtil would like Fairhair to be here also. 
Come in good time.” 

This request was of course equivalent to a command, 
and even if I had been less curious as to the issue I 
should have rendered it due obedience. 

I appeared in the audience chamber punctually at 
the time appointed. A few minutes after the magneto- 
electric machine was placed on the table and I had 
seen, at the Cacique’s request, that everything was in 
order, the ringing of spear and shield announced that 
the visitors were without, and the next moment the 
mat was drawn aside and Cochitemi, followed by his 


A SHOCK FOR COCHITEMI. 


203 


colleagues, swept into the room. All made the obeisance 
demanded by etiquette; but the high-priest could not 
have borne himself more haughtily if he had been the 
Sun God in person. Me he did not condescend to notice, 
but I saw him cast more than one curious look at the 
machine on the table ; and the man being as inquisitive 
as a monkey, I felt sure that he would want to know 
what the box contained. 

And so he did. The palaver over he turned to Ixtil, 
and with bated breath, but imperious gesture, asked if 
the Lord of Light would deign to inform him what 
the queer-looking box with the yellow handles might 
contain. 

“ It is a box brought by Fairhair from beyond the 
mountains. It contains a devil in solution,” answered 
the Cacique, gravely. 

Cochitemi laughed scornfully. Being a priest he 
naturally did not believe in devils. 

“ You do not believe ? Look ! ” said Ixtil, opening 
the box. 

“ Ah, ah ! A crooked piece of foreign metal [iron] 
and wire of gold ! ” said the priest, laughing again. 
“ Fairhair is a fool and his box a fraud. A devil, in- 
deed ; a child's toy rather ! ” 

“ You think so ! Grasp these handles and you will 
see ! The devil will hold you so fast that you cannot 
leave go." 

“ Hold Cochitemi fast 1 A little box like that ! " 
and he laughed again, louder than before, the other 


204 


THjS phantom city. 


priests, as in duty bound, following his example. 
“ Fairhair has deceived you, Lord of Light, or, perhaps” 
(taking the handles and laying them down again), 
“ the devil is asleep.” 

“ Perhaps he is. Ixtil will try to waken him ” 
(putting the machine in action). “ Try now.” 

Cochitemi, still smiling scornfully, again grasped 
the handles. 

The effect was electrical in more senses than one. 
Never did poor wretch look so scared. The shock 
frightened him horribly, and his inability to let go 
the handles made him really believe that he was held 
in demon clutches. He bellowed like a bull and cursed 
like a bargee, his face was distorted with rage and pain, 
and his eyes rolled as if he had been possessed. The 
Cacique showed no mercy, but went on turning as fast 
as he could, and if I had not interposed I know not 
what would have happened. 

“Pray stop,” I said; “if you continue the man 
will either go mad or die of terror.” 

After another turn or two he did so, laughing loudly 
and vindictively; yet Ixtil was naturally a grave man. 
I had never seen him laugh before. He evidently 
enjoyed his triumph over the priest immensely. 

“ There ! ” he exclaimed, “ Ixtil will put the devil to 
sleep again. Do you believe in him now, Cochitemi? 
Why did not you let go ? ” 

“ This is Fairhair's work,” gasped Cochitemi, looking 
as if he would like to kill me on the spot. “ He is a 


A SHOCK FOR COCHITEMI. 


205 


wicked wizard, and deserves to die. Take care he does 
not cast his spells over you, Lord of Light/’ 

With that the high-priest gathered his robes about 
him, and staggered, rather than walked, out of the 
room, for the shock had half terrified him to death. 
The other priests followed him, trembling. 

“ He has been rightly punished,” said Ixtil, after 
they were gone. “ But he lays it all on you, Fairhair, 
and will do you an ill turn if he can. You will have to 
be on your guard/'’ 

" I am afraid so. But don’t you think he is quite 
as angry with you, Cacique, only he dared not say so 
openly ? ” 

" Very likely. But he can do Ixtil no harm, and the 
Lord of Light knows how to protect his friends.” 

I thanked the Cacique warmly for his kind inten- 
tions, yet I should have been quite as well pleased if he 
had punished Cochitemi in some other way, or, at any 
rate, punished him without implicating me ; for, next to 
Ixtil, he was the most powerful man in the land, and, 
unless his looks belied him, as revengeful as he was 
powerful. Notwithstanding Ixtil’s belief that the high- 
priest could do him no harm, and his confidence that he 
could protect me, I feared that he would find some 
means of wreaking his vengeance on both of us. As to 
the form it might take I had no idea, but I resolved to 
seize an early opportunity of ascertaining if there was 
any “ old custom” with reference to the treatment of 
supposed wizards. 


206 


CHAPTER XXL 

I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 

Up to this time my interviews with Ixtil had always 
taken place in the Hall of Audience, and always in the 
afterpart of the day, the reason being that his mornings 
were occupied with affairs of state and the reception of 
visitors ; for the Lord of Light was as accessible as the 
president of a democratic republic. The most obscure 
peasant had no more difficulty in obtaining an audience 
than the high-priests of the temples of the sun and the 
moon. Socially, however, Ixtil was hardly less exclusive 
than a Spanish king or a German princeling. None 
but members of the lordly families had the right of 
entree at court, and even among them an invitation to 
Ixtil’s table was considered a great honour. Hence, to 
invite me would have been a startling innovation, and 
though Ixtil had, personally, no more respect for court 
etiquette than for priestly superstition, he was too wise 
a prince to endanger his popularity by departing from 
the usage of his ancestors without sufficient cause ; and 
he knew, what I did not, that his intimacy with me, 
and my influence with him, were already beginning to 
excite the jealousy of the Cacique caste. 

As I had heard something of this from Melchora it 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 207 

did not surprise me that my intercourse with Ixtil had 
so far been purely personal, and limited to the Hall of 
Audience. I owed my acquaintance with his family to 
my quality as a healer. One evening, shortly after the 
electrifying of the high-priest, when I called as usual 
on the Cacique, I observed that he seemed much con- 
cerned. In reply to my inquiry about his health, he 
said that he was very well, but that the Lady of Light 
was very ill. 

" Yes,” he repeated, after I had expressed my regret, 
without, however, venturing to ask what was the 
trouble, “ she is very ill, and the court medicine man 
does not seem able to do her any good. Ixtil' would 
like Fairhair to see her. He is a wise man, and his head 
is stored with strange learning.” (It was a sign of his 
favour that Ixtil now nearly always addressed me in the 
third person.) 

There was a risk in complying with this request, for 
if I undertook the case and failed, like the unfortunate 
court medicine man, my prestige would be seriously 
compromised ; and, for anything I knew, the case might 
be incurable. 

i( If Fairhair could heal the Lady of Light, Ixtil 
would be very grateful ; the mother of his children is 
very dear to him,” said the Cacique, perceiving my 
hesitation, but not divining its cause. 

This appeal it was impossible to resist. Ixtil knew 
that I had been a medicine man in my own country, 
and, apart from considerations of humanity, refusal of 


208 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


his request would have done me more harm in his 
estimation than failure to heal his wife. 

So I said I would do my best ; but I assured him 
that it was quite impossible for me to give an opinion — 
much less guarantee a cure — until I had seen my 
patient, and that where so eminent a practitioner as the 
court medicine man had failed it was not at all probable 
that I should succeed. 

“ Fairhair is sure to succeed,” answered Ixtil, seem- 
ingly much gratified with my compliance. “ The court 
medicine man is an old woman. Fairhair is learned in 
many languages. Come ! Ixtil will take him.” 

“A pleasant prospect,” I thought, as the Cacique 
led the way from the Hall of Audience. “ I have just 
made an enemy of the high-priest of the Temple of the 
Sun, and now I am going to make an enemy of the 
leading physician ! ” 

Preceded by the captain of the guard, and escorted by 
half-a-dozen of his men, we went to the right wing of 
the palace (which was large enough to hold a regiment 
of soldiers), where dwelt the Cacique's family. It was 
a part of the interior I had not seen before, and con- 
sisted of a suite of stately apartments, connected by 
corridors with vaulted triangular ceilings. The floors 
were covered with matting, which deadened sound as 
effectually as if they had been Turkey carpets, and the 
walls were either painted or hung with arras. 

We found the Lady of Light in a room overlook- 
ing the lake. Its furnishing and adornments were 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 209 

suggestive o£ refined habits and good taste. According 
to English ideas, however, there might he too great a 
profusion of bright colours and gay flowers, and some 
of the mural painting struck me as being decidedly 
grotesque. But English ideas do not rule in Phantom- 
land. 

My patient was lying on a wicker-couch, surrounded 
by her women — a fair lady, with a white skin, fine 
dark eyes, and a sweet expressive face. 

I was glad to find that the trouble was not so 
serious as I had expected. A tumour above the ear, of 
the sort technically known as a cutaneous cyst, in itself 
neither painful nor dangerous ; yet, as it had grown 
rapidly, and was involving the neighbouring tissues and 
nerves, and on the point of ulcerating, it caused con- 
siderable local pain and a general disturbance of the 
system, resulting in great measure from loss of sleep. 
I fancy, too, the treatment adopted by the court 
medicine man, instead of affording relief, had served 
only to aggravate the malady ; for, though Phantom 
practitioners are very fair physicians and acquainted 
with some potent remedies, they are indifferent surgeons 
and timid operators. 

I saw at once that excision was the only effectual 
remedy, and so I told the Cacique. 

“ Will it be painful ? 33 he asked. 

I had to answer in the affirmative ; but I explained 
that the operation would be over in a few minutes, and 
that I could guarantee a speedy and complete cure. 


o 


no 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


After speaking to his wife, Ixtil asked me to perform 
the operation at once, and I went for my instruments. 

I had already thought of corupa , but hesitated to 
take the responsibility of using it, and I was still turn- 
ing the matter over in my mind, when it occurred to me 
to try its effect as a local anaesthetic. I did so in the 
first instance by applying some of it to my own arm, 
when I found, to my great satisfaction, that the corupa 
rendered the part so far insensible that I could prick it 
without feeling any pain whatever. 

This was enough. Before commencing the opera- 
tion I laid on the tumour a compress saturated with 
corupa > and let it remain there ten minutes. Then, 
with a few rapid strokes of the knife, I excised the 
tumour before my patient knew that the operation had 
begun. 

Ixtil and his wife were delighted beyond measure, 
for the tumour, besides causing pain, had threatened to 
be a great disfigurement; and I was made court medicine 
man on the spot. 

“ Fairhair was IxtiFs friend before/' said the 
Cacique ; “ he is now the friend of all his family. If 
they can do anything to prove their gratitude, Fairhair 
has only to speak the word." 

“The honour of their friendship is more than a 
sufficient reward for any service Fairhair has been enabled 
to render the Lord of Light and his family. But when 
he thinks of his lost friends his heart is sad." 

“Ixtil has spoken. The order has gone forth; if 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 211 

these men live they shall be brought hither, and the 
Lord of Light will answer for their safety ” 

I bowed my thanks, wondering, not without appre- 
hension, by what mysterious danger they were threatened, 
and why the Cacique should consider it necessary to 
answer for their safety any more than for mine. Both 
his manner and his words confirmed my impression 
that he knew more than he liked to tell, and I now 
felt little doubt that, whether for good or for evil, I 
should see Wildfell and his companions again. Yet 
why it should be for evil I could not imagine, and I 
failed to extract any more definite information from 
Ixtil. He either answered me in riddles, to which I 
was unable to find a clue, or abruptly closed the con- 
versation by saying that so long as he was my friend I 
had nothing to fear, and that my healing of his wife 
had made him more my friend than ever. 

It seemed so, for even after my patient became con- 
valescent I was pressed to continue my visits, and if I 
omitted to call for two or three days running I was sure 
to be sent for and gently reproached for my neglect. 
In fact, most of my time was passed in the society of 
the Cacique and his wife and daughters, for there could 
be no violation of courtly etiquette in the visits of the 
family physician ; and I enjoyed their company as much 
as they seemed to enjoy mine. 

Ixtil had two sons and two daughters; the former 
being under charge of a tutor I saw little of them, but 
the daughters, having finished their education and 
o 2 


m 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


reached the age of womanhood, were nearly always with 
their mother. Zoe, the elder, was sixteen; Suma, the 
younger, fifteen. In person they did not perhaps con- 
form to English ideas of beauty — the cheek-bones were 
too high, the jaws too long and prominent, the teeth, 
though as white as so many pearls, were too large ; but 
girls with peach-like cheeks, fair skins, dark pathetic 
eyes, long lashes and raven hair, graceful forms and 
shapely limbs, cannot be deemed plain, much less ugly. 
For my own part, I must admit that I found them both 
handsomer and more attractive than the straight-laced 
and conventional beauties of Europe. Their manner, 
moreover, was gracious and winning, and they were 
well instructed in Phantom lore, played to perfection on 
the marimba , and sang in the sweetest of voices the 
weird and plaintive ballads of their country. 

For, though no people could be freer from care or 
more uniformly cheerful than the ' Children of Light, 
there was a marked strain of sadness in their music 
and poetry. Perhaps it was because their lives were 
so short and the land in which they dwelt so beautiful. 

Ixtil was much attached to his family, and pas- 
sionately fond of his girls ; but Suma, I think, was his 
favourite. More highly gifted and more thoughtful 
than Zoe, she took greater interest in her father's scien- 
tific pursuits, and he, on his part, found greater pleasure 
in her company. She was quite an adept in astronomy, 
and spent many hours with him in the observatory 
scanning the stars. At his request I gave her lessons in 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION , AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 213 

physiology, natural history, caligraphy, and some other 
branches of European learning. 

All this made life so pleasant, and so fully occupied 
my time, that the thought of leaving the country grew 
fainter and fainter, and at last faded almost entirely 
from my mind. I meant to go away eventually, of 
course, but the time and manner of my going were 
relegated to the chapter of accidents and the far future. 

The festival of the Sun God was a great time in the 
Land of Light. A week before the celebration wild 
Indians began to arrive from every quarter of the com- 
pass — yellow and cinnamon coloured men and women, 
with nothing on worth mentioning, for they were not 
allowed to bring their weapons to the island. Stolid, 
heavy, and rather brutal countenances had these prim- 
evals ; yet they seemed harmless enough, though they 
bore the character of being both cruel and quarrelsome, 
and the authorities were probably wise in depriving 
them of their arms. The purpose of their pilgrimage 
seemed to be to get drunk and worship in the temples of 
the sun and moon. The Phantoms were a very sober 
people — perhaps because they ate so little flesh meat — 
but they placed at the disposal of their guests an 
unlimited supply of coarse spirits distilled from maize, 
and the savages liked it so well that they were tipsy 
from morning to night, and often from night to 
morning. 

I was surprised at this, and said as much to Ixtil ; 
but he told me it was done to keep their wild friends 


214 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


quiet (and certainly the more they drank the quieter 
they became), and confirm them in their allegiance to 
the Lord of Light ; and that, as they never got drunk 
at any other time (not having the wherewithal), their 
annual saturnalia could do them no great harm. 

The Phantoms themselves were gay in their own 
fashion, as gay as Neapolitans at Carnival time. 

Dancing and marimba-playing went on all night 
long. 

Even the lordly families threw off their reserve, and 
admitted all and sundry (except the wild men of the 
woods) to their houses, and feasted all comers. 

There were great functions in all the temples, the 
greatest being celebrated in the Temple of the Sun. 
The vast building, with its cyclopean columns and 
vaulted roof, filled with a crowd of forest Indians — 
sober for the nonce, Phantom maidens all in white 
and glittering with tinsel, officers of state resplendent 
in garments of feather-work and helmets of gold and 
silver, priests in gorgeous robes pacing slowly round 
the high altar, on which blazed a fire of odoriferous 
wood, chaunting their weird and mystic hymns — all 
this made up a scene which, though barbaric, was one 
of the most striking and picturesque I had ever beheld. 

The festival lasted half a moon, and when all was 
over, and the visitors — who seemed none the worse for 
their libations — had taken their departure, I asked the 
Cacique if he had caused inquiry to be made about my 
missing friends. 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 215 

“ Yes, and Ixtil has information for Fairhair," re- 
ferring to a report. “ But, first of all, let me ask if one 
of his friends has the faculty of taking out his eyes and 
putting them in again ? " 

“ No man can do that, Cacique. Somebody has been 
speaking to the Lord of Light with a double tongue." 

“ Who would dare ? According to this report, pre- 
pared by the captain of the guard, who would rather 
die than deceive his master, the Iztaes have four slaves, 
captured at the ruined city of Atacamenyo, one cinna- 
mon-coloured, two white, and one swart and hairy. 
The last is a great magician ; he can remove and re- 
place his scalp, and take out and put in his eyes at 
pleasure." 

“ It is they, it is they ! 33 I exclaimed, excitedly ; 
“ and the swart man is Ferdinando. He wears a wig 
and a pot eye, and rumour or misunderstanding has 
given him two. - ” 

“ These men are Fairh air's friends, then ? Ixtil is 
glad for your sake that they have been saved alive. 
But what is a wig and what is a pot eye ? 33 

When I had explained, Ixtil seemed much amused. 

“ You are a wonderful people," he said. “ Why 
should a blind man want to make believe that he can 
see, or a bald man that his scalp is clothed with hair ? 
If you could give the legless new limbs, or fill the 
mouths of the toothless with fresh grinders, that would 
be a fine thing — something to wonder at and admire." 

“We can. I know people who walk with wooden 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


216 

feet and whose mouths are filled with grinders that 
never grew there.” 

“ Fairhair should not talk foolishness to his friend,” 
said the Cacique severely. 

I happen to have a false molar, and without 
answering a word I took it out and held it up. If I 
had taken off my nose Ixtil could hardly have looked 
more surprised, and as he returned me the tooth he eyed 
me closely from head to foot. 

“ There is nothing else,” I said, laughing. “ My 
limbs are all real. This tooth is the only false thing I 
have about me.” 

“It is well. Ixtil likes nothing that is not what 
it seems. Still, he is curious to see this creature with 
the wig and the pot eye. The Iztaes demand a ransom ; 
shall it be given ? ” 

“ Certainly, if the Lord of Light thinks fit and he 
will do me so great a kindness. What do they ask ? ” 

“ Fifty garments of feather-work, and as much fire- 
water as will keep a hundred braves drunk for half a 
moon.” 

This was an unpleasant surprise ; feather-work was 
very valuable, and fifty garments would have repre- 
sented a heavy sum in the current coin of the realm 
— if there had been any — and were, in effect, the equi- 
valent of a considerable quantity of cocoa and maize. 

“ It is not in my power to provide such a ransom,” 
I answered; “but if the Lord of Light will oblige him 
in this matter, Fairhair will be his debtor for life.” 


I PERFORM AN OPERATION, AND BECOME A PHANTOM. 217 

“ If Ixtil obliges him will he oblige Ixtil by becom- 
ing one of his people and promising to stay in the 
Land of Light until the Sun God shall call him to the 
land of everlasting content ? ” 

This request took me so completely by surprise that 
I hardly knew how to answer. True, I had no desire to 
leave Phantomland for the present — had ceased thinking 
about it, in fact ; but to pledge myself never to leave 
it, never to see England again — to become as one dead 
to Dominick and to all who knew me — to be as com- 
pletely cut off from the world as if I were a denizen of 
the moon — that was a very different matter. 

“ Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of 
Cathay .” 

But it is a question of restoring to liberty, perhaps 
saving from death, those whom I have led into the 
wilderness. Phantomland, if it is not Europe, is much 
less Cathay, and, promise or no promise, I cannot get 
away without Ixtihs leave — and Wildfell and Gomez — 
whether or not — yes, I must. It is shameful to hesitate. 

“ Eairhair agrees. Cacique. He promises to stay in 
the Land of Light until its lord bids him go.” 

“Its lord will never bid you go, Fairhair,” laying 
his hand affectionately on my head ; “ but he waited not 
for the promise which he was sure would be given. The 
order has gone forth, and when the next round moon 
rises above the smoking mountain and beholds her image 
in the mirrored waters of the lake, Fairhair’s friends 
will be IxtiPs guests.” 


218 


CHAPTER XXII. 

I AM FOREWARNED, BUT NOT FOREARMED. 

“The smoking mountain seems to be smoking rather 
harder than usual and — yes — there is a glow about it, 
as if the hidden fires were burning more fiercely."” 

“Fairh air's eyes are keen, they do not deceive 
him. The pillar of smoke, generally so light and thin, 
is waxing bigger and blacker, and — he is right — it is 
reddened with a tongue of flame ; the priests will say 
that it bodes danger and conveys a warning ” 

“ A warning of what ? " 

“ That the time of sacrifice approaches, and the fire- 
demons demand their due,” said Ixtil, lowering his voice. 

We were on the roof of the palace, which had been 
laid out as a garden, and where the Cacique and his 
family — sometimes sitting under an awning, sometimes 
strolling about among the plants and flowers — loved to 
spend the cool of the day ; for the air at that height 
was generally fresh, and the view, which embraced the 
entire valley of the lake and its setting of forest and 
mountain, always fair. 

The Lady of Light was spinning cotton on a distaff, 
Zoe making a garment of feather-work, and Suma learn- 
ing her A B C — comparing the letters I had drawn for 


I AM FOREWARNED, BUT NOT FOREARMED. 219 

her with those in my Bible — and, as I could see by the 
movement of her lips, giving each its name. The Bible, 
I may mention, was one of the three books I had 
brought with me, the other two being “ Shakespeare ” 
and a nautical almanack. 

The Cacique and I were smoking long cigars, in 
shape something like a cheroot, but of the same thick- 
ness from end to end, and made from tobacco of a 
deliciously aromatic flavour, with which for frag- 
rance and delicacy, neither the choicest Havana nor 
the most costly Turkish could for a moment be 
compared. 

“The time is not far off, then?” I observed, in 
answer to IxtiFs last remark. 

“ Only two moons. The subject is rather a painful 
one for them,” glancing at the ladies. “ There are fewer 
maidens for selection this year than usual, and they 
fear the lot may fall on their friend, Lula, daughter of 
the Lord Xixime, whom you know.” 

“ Yes, and I have seen Lula — a fine, handsome girl 
— and is it really possible that she may ? 33 

“ Have to die ? More than possible — probable. 
There are but three to choose from. IxtiFs heart is 
heavy, Fairhair. Xixime is one of his dearest friends, 
and Lula is much beloved by Suma and Zoe.” 

“ But must it be. Cacique ? ” I said, deeply pained. 
“ Why not abolish this hideous rite once for all ? Why 
not begin now ? ” 

“ Does Fairhair think Ixtil would not if he could ? 


220 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Can it afford the Lord of Light any pleasure to sacrifice 
his friend's daughter and his daughters' friend, and cast 
her body down yonder smoking abyss ? But there is 
not a Phantom in the valley, not a wild man in the 
mountains who, as he sees the pillar darkening and the 
fire glow reddening, does not say to himself or his neigh- 
bour that the demons are calling for the tribute ; and 
if the rite were not performed, and, above all, if the 
mountain should afterwards vomit flame and ashes, Ixtil 
and all the lordly families would fall victims to the 
fury of the people and the fanaticism of the priests, the 
wild men would take possession of the Land of Light, 
and its glory would be at an end. No, Fairhair, if the 
lot falls on Lula she must die. But may the Sun God 
avert the omen." 

The Cacique seemed much disturbed ; so, by way of 
changing the subject, I asked if the mountain ever did 
vomit flame and ashes. 

“ Only very seldom, and never for very long. But 
there is a legend — Fairhair may find some mention of it 
in one of Melch ora's old books — there is a legend that 
many, many ages ago, when the Children of Light had 
not long been settled in the valley of the lake, the 
demons waxed terribly wrath, and made the mountain 
vomit streams of fire and throw out clouds of ashes, 
which turned day into night, wrought fearful havoc, and 
destroyed many lives." 

" The catastrophe may have suggested the propitia- 
tory rite." 


IAM FOREWARNED, BUT NOT FOREARMED. 221 

“ Fairhair speaks wisely, like a man who observes 
well and thinks deeply. This is also Ixtifs opinion; 
yet, albeit the priests talk much foolishness, and their 
sayings are not believed by the wise ; it must he 
admitted that since the institution of the rite the pillar 
of smoke has never been turned into rivers of fire, nor 
has the sun been darkened at noonday .” 

“ I don’t think, though, that these are cause and 
effect. There are volcanoes — smoking mountains — in 
other parts of the world which, after remaining in- 
active during untold centuries, pour forth floods of fire 
and shoot up clouds of ashes, and then again sink into 
inactivity for long ages.” 

“ Although no sacrifice is offered ? ” 

“ Although no sacrifice is offered.” 

“ Fairhair, no doubt, speaks the truth ; and if it 
depended on Ixtil’s will the rite should he abolished. 
But it will never he abolished until there is another 
vomiting of fire and the people have proof that the rite 
is an empty superstition. Yet even then the priests 
would refuse to yield : they would say that the fault 
was ours, the outburst a sign that the demons demanded 
still more victims.” 

“ I have never been up to the crater ; I must go one 
of these days. It would not be a very difficult under- 
taking, I think.” 

“ Not at all ; there are steps and well-made paths. 
All the same, Fairhair had better not make the 
attempt.” 


222 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ Why ? Is there a law against it — or perhaps you 
think it would he dangerous just now?” 

“ Neither law nor danger. But if Fairhair should 
be seen ascending the smoking mountain the priests 
would make a great outcry ; and, though Ixtil cares little 
for that, it would he well for Fairhair to wait until the 
day of the rite, and then he may accompany Ixtil, see 
the sacrifice, and look into the crater.” 

“ But why would the priests make an outcry if I 
went alone ? ” 

“ They believe it is an offence against the Sun God ; 
and the Book of Stars says it is of evil omen to go up 
the smoking mountain at any other time than on the 
day of sacrifice.” 

“ The Book of Stars ! I never heard ” 

“ See the horned moon, looking towards the east ! ” 
interrupted the Cacique. “ In fifteen days your friends 
will be here. They are already on their way.” 

“ You have had news of them, then ? ” I asked in 
some surprise. 

“No. Suma and Ixtil read it last night in the 
stars.” 

“Is Suma as great an adept in star-lore as her 
father?” 

“ Not yet ; but she is a promising pupil, and, unlike 
Fairhair, she does not despise the signs in the heavens.” 

“ Nor shall I despise them, Lord of Light, if they 
reveal the truth.” 

“They do reveal the truth; but it is not always 


I AM FOREWARNED, BUT NOT FOREARMED. 223 

given to man to read them aright. The stars never lie, 
though the gazer may err.” 

a What will be the fate of my friends ? ” 

“ It is not quite clear. The stars only yield their 
secrets to long and patient watching, and I have con- 
sulted them but once about these men. All I can with 
certainty say is that they will arrive safely, yet after- 
wards be in great peril, from which all, save one, will 
escape .” 

“ Yes ! And who is he ? ” 

“ The stars have so far not revealed — perhaps never 
will reveal. - ” 

“ What say they about me ? 33 

“ They say that Fairhair will be fortunate; that, 
though he is destined to undergo dangers — as great as 
any which he has yet encountered — he will surmount 
them all; < and that at some time not very remote — when 
the earth is in the sign of the cross — he will render a 
great service to IxtiFs family, either by saving IxtiFs 
life or the life of one very dear to him.” 

“ That at least I hope will prove true,” I returned 
warmly ; “ for there is nothing I should so much like as 
an opportunity of showing that I am not ungrateful 
for the favours showered on me by the Lord of Light 
and his family.” 

“ It is good. Ixtil has read Fairhair’s heart, and he 
knows that he speaks with lips of truth.” 

As the Cacique spoke his wife and daughters rose 
and pointed towards the west. The sun was bidding 


224 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


adieu to the valley. All bent low and remained in 
the same reverential attitude until the great luminary 
sank out of sight, leaving behind him a trail of glory 
which, for the few minutes it lasted, illumined sierra 
and lake with a splendour and beauty that seemed to be 
rather of heaven than of earth. 

In this act of devotion or reverence I unhesitatingly 
joined, for I saw no wrong in bowing before the most 
marvellous manifestation of the might and majesty ot 
the creator of the universe. 

But Ixtihs predictions, though I listened to them, as I 
listened to all he said, with respectful attention, appeared 
to me quite unworthy of his intelligence ; and he was 
aware that I put no faith in astrology, for we had 
several times discussed the subject, and I had tried to 
convince him of the impossibility of foretelling the 
future by reading the stars — or in any other way. At 
the same time, I could not treat his forecasts with 
indifference, for I knew they were coloured by his 
thoughts ; and it was quite possible that he had taken 
this means of putting me on my guard and warning me 
of dangers which he foresaw, though I did not. He 
had spoken in a similar strain before, but always in the 
same oracular vein; and, as he refused to be more explicit, 
I was in the unpleasant position of being forewarned 
without the possibility of being forearmed. 


225 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE LOST ARE FOUND. 

The first of IxtiPs predictions — if prediction it could 
be called — and the one which concerned me the most, 
came true almost to the letter. 

As we were sitting on the roof of the palace, about a 
fortnight after the conversation described in the last 
chapter, and within a few hours of the rising of the full 
moon, Coxoh, the little officer who had escorted me to 
the palace on my arrival in Phantomland, came up to 
the Cacique and whispered a word in his ear. 

“ Now ! ” exclaimed Ixtil, turning to me with a look 
of triumph ; “ will Fairhair believe the stars now ? His 
friends are at the head of the lake, and will be here to- 
morrow morning an hour after dawn.” 

I expressed my thanks to the Lord of Light for 
having so faithfully kept his word. I did not, how- 
ever, say much about the stars, for I felt pretty sure 
that he had taken effectual measures to ensure the ful- 
filment of his prophecy. But as he seemed quite as 
pleased as if I had owned myself in the wrong, he pro- 
bably regarded my silence on the point as a virtual 
admission of the veracity of the heavenly bodies and 
the soundness of his forecast. 


P 


226 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ The men shall be assigned quarters near you and 
Melchora/'’ he continued. “ Coxoh will meet them at 
the landing-place and escort them to the palace. Fair- 
hair would, perhaps, like to accompany him ? ” 

To this query I returned an emphatic affirmative, 
and a few minutes after sunrise I met the little officer 
in the eastern colonnade. 

In order to give the newcomers a little surprise I 
arrayed myself for the occasion in the full Phantom 
costume presented to me by the Cacique the day after 
I had agreed to become one of his people — a rich 
feather-work tunic, white kilt, and gold-encrusted hel- 
met. From my waistbelt, composed of alternate plates 
of gold, silver, and bronze, hung a bronze sword, with 
a gold hilt, all too small for my un-Phantom-like hand. 
So far as use was concerned, my old machete would 
have been a good deal more to the purpose. 

I did surprise them most effectually, which, seeing 
how gorgeously I was got up, and that the wanderers 
had not the least expectation of seeing me, was, perhaps, 
not to be wondered at. It was a case of surprise on 
both sides, for they certainly surprised me. I never saw 
such a set of woe-begone, sun-burnt, mosquito-bitten 
tatterdemalions in my life. Wildfell had nothing in the 
world on but a pair of ragged cotton drawers, much too 
small for him, and an old hat. Gomez the same, barring 
the drawers, but being a great stickler for propriety, he 
had made himself an airy garment of maguey leaves ; 
his banjo, considerably the worse for wear, was slung 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


227 

over his shoulder, and the stump of his tooth-brush 
stuck proudly in the brim of his hat. Ferdiuando had 
rigged himself up in a kilt (borrowed from one of the 
Phantom boatmen) which looked like a very short petti- 
coat ; but his wig was gone, and frequent handling had 
worn away part of the iris of his pot eye, thereby giving 
him a peculiar and rather horrible aspect, especially 
when, as sometimes happened — the sun being very 
strong — he blinked with the other. 

Pedro's costume I am unable to describe for a very 
excellent reason — he had none. 

I saw at once, as the poor fellows stepped out of the 
boat, that, though struck by the difference between my 
stature and appearance and that of the other Phantoms, 
they did not recognise me, and I once thought of keep- 
ing them in the dark until we got to the palace. But 
it would have been too unkind ; their worn faces showed 
how cruelly they must have suffered. They looked 
distressed and anxious, too, as if apprehensive as to 
what might befall them. 

“ Glad to see you, old man ! ** I exclaimed, clapping 
Wildfell on the back and taking his hand. “ Welcome 
to Phantomland 1 ” 

For a moment he looked positively scared, as if he 
had seen a spectre ; then his face became luminous with 
delight. 

“ It is — no, it is not — yes, it is — it must be, by 
Jupiter, the doctor ! " he shouted — in his excitement 
backing so suddenly as to capsize little Coxoh (who was 
p 2 


228 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


close behind him) head over heels into the lake. “ Who 

the ? But/'’ dropping his voice, “ is it real, or are 

you only a phantom ? ” 

“ A Phantom I am, but real for all that, and 
heartily glad to see you, dear friend,” clapping him on 
the back and taking his hand again. 

" Well, it is no ghostly grip you give, anyhow .” 

“For dioSj el Senor Doctor /” broke in Gomez, 
putting his arms round my neck and fairly hugging 
me. “ I knew it ; I knew it. I knew he would turn 
up again. I felt sure he had escaped those infamous 
Indians, and would find a means of rescuing us.” 

As I shook hands with Ferdinando and Pedro, Coxoh 
came spluttering out of the water, looking, as Wildfell 
observed, “ damped indignant.” 

" Just apologise to the little chap, will you?” he 
said ; “ and say how sorry I am for tumbling him over so 
unceremoniously. I fear I have spoiled his fine feathers, 
though.” 

Coxoh took the apology in good part, and we started 
on our journey up the hill. 

“ I say, you seem to have been having a good time,” 
observed the American, viewing me all over. “ Do you 
know what I took you for ? ” 

“ What?” 

“ The President of the Phantom republic ; or, may 
be, you've married the Cacique’s daughter, or whatever 
the head boss of the country calls himself, and been 
adopted as heir-apparent.” 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


229 


“ Not quite that,” I answered, laughing. “ I am 
the court physician, that is all.” 

“ That's all ! A doctor is like a gamecock, he always 
lights on his feet. If ever I get back to New Haven, 
Connecticut, I'll buy myself a diploma and learn to 
make pills. But, I say, how the mischief did you get 
here ? " 

“ That's a long story. I'll tell you when we get to 
the palace.'' 

“ You live in a palace, then ! I say, Ferdinando, he 
lives in a palace.'' 

“ Naturally, being court physician; and you are 
going to live in a palace, too.” 

“ The deuce we are ! That will be a rise in life and 
no mistake. Why, we have been living in dog-kennels.” 

“ You have had a bad time, then ?*' 

“ A bad time ? Rather ! Don't we look it ? " 

There was no mistake about that — they did look it. 

“ An awfully bad time,” continued Wildfell dole- 
fully ; “ worse for me than any of the others. Ferdin- 
ando had his pot eye and his wig, Gomez his banjo and 
his tooth-brush — Pedro could make himself useful in all 
sorts of ways — but my knowledge of the timber trade, 
and dye-woods, and book-keeping by double entry, to- 
gether with a considerable facility of expression in my 
native tongue, did not serve me in the least — were 
quite thrown away, in fact — and if I had not re- 
membered that I once learned to dance, and been able 
to recall a few hymns learnt at the Sunday-school 


230 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


in my infancy, I do believe the beggars would have 
made a target of me.” 

“ You acted as singing and dancing-master, then ? ” 

“Not much of a master, you bet ! Say slave, and 
you will be nearer the mark. Yes, I had to sing 
and dance every night — sometimes all night long — 
while Gomez strummed on his banjo. Fancy a free- 
born American citizen dancing stark naked before a lot 
of cinnamon-coloured savages ! However, I invented a 
lot of new steps, which I mean to patent when I get 
back to the States.” 

“ I felt sure they had taken you prisoners ; my fear 
was you would be horribly ill-used, perhaps tortured to 
death.” 

“ Well, we have been horribly ill-used, and only 
escaped death by accident. It was Ferdinando who 
saved us — or rather his wig.” 

“I shall never see that wig again,” sighed Ferdin- 
ando, pointing to his bald pate. “ Think what a sight 
I am ! How can I appear at court without hair on mv 
head?” 

“ Never mind that. Better be without hair than 
without head.” 

“ But how on earth could his wig save you ? ” I 
asked. “ You are surely joking ! ” 

“Joking ! Deuce a bit. It’s only too serious ; isn't 
it, Ferdinando ? Ill tell you all about it. Where you 
were that morning I have no idea. Good for you that 
you had made yourself scarce. As for us, we were 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


231 


wakened by a terrific war-whoop, and on opening our 
eyes found ourselves surrounded by a hundred hideous- 
looking Indians, all in their war-paint, and pointing at 
us with their spears. Resistance would have been use- 
less. We might as well have tried to resist an aval- 
anche; and I was preparing for my latter end when 
Ferdinando, jerking his head suddenly on one side — for 
the spears were getting uncomfortably near — his wig 
tumbled off. 

“ The savages fell back with a howl of dismay — 
they had never seen a scalp come off without being 
touched before — and when Ferdinando clapped the wig 
on again they were more astonished than ever, and 
seemed half-scared out of their wits. 

“ Then I had a happy thought. f They think 
you are a wizard, Ferdinando/ I called out ; ‘ pull 
out your pot eye/ 

“ Which Ferdinando did, put it back again, and 
winked at them with the other. He was quite equal to 
the occasion, I assure you, and showed more resource 
than I gave him credit for. 

“ ‘ If you understand their lingo, Pedro/ I said, 
* tell ; em we possess supernatural powers, and that if 
they don't let us alone and take themselves off, we 
will — something bad will happen to ’em — anything you 
like, only frighten 'em/ 

“ As luck would have it, Pedro did understand their 
lingo, and he told them what I said. I am afraid, 
though, he was too much scared to give it proper effect. 


232 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Anyhow they were not to he gammoned. They did not 
hack us to pieces, as they thought of doing ; but they 
ordered us to get up, tied our hands behind our backs, 
and, after making prize of our goods and chattels, 
gave the word to march. 

“ As Pedro heard afterwards, my threat did not 
frighten them a hit, and they soon got over their first 
scare; but these Indians have great faith in dreams, 
and, as it happened, their chief, Teakualitzigiti by name 
— spell it, if you can — had dreamt, a few nights before, 
that he was attacked by fifteen tigers, all at once, and 
was getting very much the worst of it, when a man 
without a scalp dropped down from the sky and drove 
them away. So when Ferdinando's wig fell off he 
thought he was the man. That saved our lives ; and 
Pedro felt sure they would not hurt Ferdinando, however 
they might treat the rest of us. 

“ Well, after a three days' tramp through the 
forest we reached our captors' village. I never suf- 
fered so much in my life as during those three days, 
Carlyon. The mosquitoes bit like the very devil, 
and, our hands being tied, we could do nothing to 
defend ourselves. But — what was a thousand times 
worse — we were unable to scratch. It was maddening; 
and if it had lasted much longer I do believe I should 
have gone off my head. 

“ When we got to the village we were untied and 
thrust into a filthy hut about the size of a big dog- 
kennel, and containing, on a moderate computation. 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


233 


about ten million fleas ; but, being at liberty to 
scratch, we contrived to exist. 

“A few days later a great palaver was held to 
deliberate on our fate. Opinions were divided between 
flaying us alive and making targets of us, but in the 
end it was decided, by the casting vote of Teakualitzi- 
giti, that we should be allowed to live on condition of 
amusing them and making ourselves generally useful. 

“ When I say* we/ I mean Gomez, Pedro, and myself. 
There had never been a question of killing Ferdinando, 
but they made his life miserable by continual examina- 
tion of his wig and pot eye, which they never tired of 
making him put on and off and in and out. At last, 
Teakualitzigiti boned the wig altogether, had his hair 
cut short, and stuck it on his own cranium — and nice he 
looked, the hideous rascal. 

“ Pedro fetched and carried, and acted as a beast of 
burden ; Gomez strummed on his banjo ; and, as I told 
you just now, I hit on the idea of singing hymns and doing 
the light fantastic. It was not what you would call an 
ideal existence, though ; and between being eaten by fleas 
and mosquitoes, and not having enough to eat ourselves, 
you may be sure we did not wax fat. But we had just 
to submit. Escape was out of the question ; we were 
watched day and night ; and even if we had bolted and 
got a day's start, the wretches could have tracked and 
overtaken us. I might have bettered my lot con- 
siderably by accepting Teakualitzigiti's proposal to 
marry his sister. But I positively refused. I would 


234 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


rather have been flayed alive. Muatzicatanineliveso 
(the young lady in question) would have carried off the 
prize for ugliness in a show of ring-tailed monkeys, 
and she seemed to think washing a sin, and wore no 
clothes worth mentioning — you may imagine the rest. 

u How long we led this life I have no idea. We 
lost all count of time ; and I began to think we 
should end by becoming as brutalised as the noble 
savages whose slaves we were. You can imagine — 
no, you cannot — how delighted we were when Tea- 
kualitzigiti told us he wanted no more of us — that 
we were to go. Where, we did not know, nor much 
care. Our lives were so hard and monotonous that 
any change would be a relief, and almost certainly 
an improvement. We have had a long tramp, though, 
and must have covered a pretty considerable number of 
miles. Our escort could not have been in a bigger 
hurry if they had engaged to deliver us on a certain 
day, under a penalty for non-fuliilment of contract.” 

“ They had.” 

u How ? Come, don't be mysterious, there's a good 
fellow. I hate mysteries. Tell us all about it.” 

“ Presently. Here we are at. the palace. Let me 
show you to your quarters.” 

The room to which I took them was lofty and spa- 
cious, furnished in the best Phantom style — tables, 
wicker chairs, mats, and four beautiful hammocks slung 
all in a row. 

“ Magnificent ! ” exclaimed Wildfell, "we are in 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


235 


clover here and no mistake. A slight improvement on 
dog-kennels this. Do you know I really feel as if I 
could sing out of pure gladness and gratitude.” 

“ Do/* I said, never thinking he would. “ Let me 
hear one of your hymns/' 

On this he stood up, and, much to my surprise, 
rolled out in a fine bass voice “ The Old Hundredth.” 

When he had finished my eyes were filled with 
tears. 

“ It makes me think of the old home,” I said, rather 
sadly. “ I shall never see it again.” 

“Of course you will. There need be no difficulty 
in getting away from here. We cannot be far from 
the settled part of Guatemala — Quesaltenango, don't 
you call it ? But let us have your story ; we can talk 
about that afterwards.” 

“ I guessed it was to you we owed our rescue from 
the wild Indians,” said Wildfell, when I had concluded 
my narrative, “ but I little thought that to save us 
you had sacrificed yourself.” 

" You put the case rather too strongly, my friend. 
Besides, as I got you into the difficulty, it was surely 
my duty to get you out of it.” 

“ Well, I am not quite so sure about that. I guess 
we got ourselves into the difficulty by hunting after 
that accursed gold. If we had gone ahead as you 
wanted us, it would have been all right.” 

“ And I am not so sure about that. If we had gone 
on we should have been sure to fall into the hands 


236 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


of the wild Indians sooner or later, and in that case, 
whatever else had become of us, we should not have 
reached the Phantom City. I am very much disposed 
to think, too, that if I had come here in any other way 
— as a ragged wanderer on foot, for instance — I should 
not have lived to tell the tale. I question even if I 
should have been allowed to see the Cacique.” 

“ How so ? They seem a very kindly people these 
Phantoms.” 

“ So they are. But they have their own ideas about 
strangers. And I had a hint the other day — . How- 
ever, there is no use troubling about that at present, 
and I may be mistaken.” 

“ But you are quite safe now ? ” 

“ Quite. For I not only enjoy the friendship and 
protection of the Cacique — in which, I may mention, 
you are included — but my cure of the Lady of Light 
has brought me several distinguished patients ; and I 
don't think they would like to lose me. One way and 
another I am in high favour.” 

“ Which is another way of saying you are a highly 
favoured mortal. Anyhow, you might be a good deal 
worse off — as a slave among the wild Indians, for 
example. If I had not a mother and a sweetheart in 
New Haven, Connecticut — who must be thinking I am 
a pretty long time about buying my logwood — and 
I should be throwing away my chance of being elected 
President, I wouldn't mind pitching my tent here for 
life and keeping you company. I guess I could put 


THE LOST ARE FOUND. 


237 


these Phantoms up to a thing or two in dye-woods and 
timber, and turn an honest penny for myself at the 
same time. Seriously, though, I am anxious, both for 
family and business reasons, to get home as soon as 
may be, and if you can help me in this, you will do me 
a great favour.” 

“ I will do my best, you may be sure ; though I 
shall be very sorry to lose you, Wildfell. But I must 
tell you frankly, that I don't think it will be easily 
managed — not at all without the consent and co-opera- 
tion of the Cacique ; and you must possess your souls 
in patience for a few days, until I find an opportunity 
of approaching him on the subject.” 

“ All right, I leave it to you ; only as soon as you 
can, please. Shall we have an opportunity of thanking 
the President — the Cacique I mean — for his hospitality ? " 
“ Certainly. The Lord of Light will receive you 
in the Hall of Audience an hour before sunset.” 

“ With all my heart. I shall be delighted to make 
his lordship's acquaintance. But, I say,” glancing at 
his ragged drawers, “ this is not exactly a court dress. 
Could you lend a fellow a suit of clothes ? ” 

“ Here are some Phantom costumes very much at 
your disposal. I have nothing else.” 

“ I don't want anything else. What would be the 
good of pants and a tail coat in a country like this ? 
And I should like to see myself in a petticoat and 
feathers for once in a way. J ust show me the knack 
of putting them on, will you ? " 


238 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE SACRIFICE. 

Ixtil, as I knew lie would, gave us a gracious reception, 
for the Lord of Light was as courteous as a Spanish 
grandee, and, as Wildfell put it, “ affable at that.” 
Yet, beyond the exchange of a few compliments, and an 
examination of Ferdinando's pot eye, and an explanation 
about the wig, very little passed. Notwithstanding the 
geniality and cheerfulness of his manner, I could see 
that Ixtil was anxious and pre-occupied, and as soon as 
I conveniently could I brought the conversation to a 
close. 

“ Whatever Blueeyes, Blackbeard, and Baldhead 
want, let them have,” he said, “ they are IxtiPs guests. 
And one of these evenings, when there is light of moon, 
you must bring them on the roof. The Lady of Light 
and her daughters would like to make their acquaint- 
ance.” 

Of Pedro he took no notice whatever, for the poor 
fellow was a tame Indian, and the Cacique regarded 
with supremest contempt all his countrymen who had 
accepted Christianity and bowed to the Spanish yoke. 

I had no difficulty in divining the cause of IxtiPs 
anxiety. The smoking mountain looked ugly ; the 


THE SACRIFICE. 


239 


time of the propitiatory rite was at hand, and in a very 
few days the victim would have to be chosen. 

As for the volcano, we were almost in instant expec- 
tation of a violent outburst. After nightfall we could 
see the molten lava rise nearly to the lip of the crater ; 
and a day or two previously, when, at the Cacique’s 
request, I made a visit to the foot of the mountain, and 
put my ear to the ground, I could distinguish, as it were, 
the dull reverberations of underground thunder; the 
trees, moreover, were covered with white ashes, the earth 
trembled, and everything portended an approaching 
catastrophe. 

These ominous signs, the like of which had not been 
seen for ages, caused great excitement among the Phan- 
toms; and I was not surprised to hear, shortly after 
WildfelFs arrival, that the priests of the four temples, 
headed by Cochitemi, had waited on the Cacique and 
demanded that the victim should be chosen quickly, and 
the sacrifice consummated forthwith. It was evident, 
they said, that the fire-demons were very angry, and, 
unless they were immediately propitiated, they, the 
priests, could not answer for the consequences. A 
disaster such as that which took place many ages ago, 
in the time of the Lord of Light, Latacungas, might 
come to pass at any moment. 

“ Why should the fire-demons be angry ? 33 asked 
Ixtil, sarcastically. "They are surely very unreason- 
able ; they have had their due : the maiden tribute has 
always been paid. Can you priests, who know every- 


240 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


thing in heaven and earth — the thoughts of men and 
the mind of the Sun God — can you, who pretend to be 
his servants, explain this mystery ? ” 

“ It is true that the maiden tribute has been paid, 
but the fashion of it has been changed,” answered 
Cochitemi; a the victim is no longer thrown to the 
demons alive. Perhaps that is the reason of their 
anger.” 

“ The high-priest’s words are as wind. Had the 
change vexed the demons they would have shown their 
anger at once. For nearly a man’s lifetime have they 
been content with a dead body, why should they now 
want a living maiden ? ” 

“ The Lord of Light is the wisest of men,” returned 
Cochitemi, with mock humility and a profound obei- 
sance. “ It is he, not the priests of the four temples, 
who knows the thoughts of gods and devils, and can 
read the language of the stars. But the fire-demons 
are never angry without a cause, and if the present 
cause be not that which Cochitemi, in his ignorance, has 
suggested, it can only be the presence of these strangers.” 

“ Wrong again. These strangers have only just 
arrived, and the smoking mountain has shown signs of 
anger for three moons.” 

“ The Lord of Light forgets that before Fairhair came 
it showed none whatever, and that since the coming of 
his four friends it has vomited ashes, and the smoke has 
become blood-red. And Ixtil will remember that when 
Fairhair first came Cochitemi warned him that if the 


THE SACRIFICE. 


241 


stranger were let live the Lord of Light would risk the 
forfeiture of the Sun God's favour. Is it not written in 
the Book of Stars ? If these other men " 

“ Nonsense ! " interrupted Ixtil, angrily. “ If 
Fairhair had not found favour in the Sun God's sight, 
he would not have protected Fairhair during his voyage 
through the air, and allowed him to reach the Land of 
Light in safety. And Blueeyes, Blackbeard, and Bald- 
head, they also enjoy the favour of the Sun God. The 
time of sacrifice shall be hastened as you desire. Let 
it take place seven days hence, and then perchance the 
fire-demons will cease from troubling and the smoking 
mountain be at peace." 

I learnt this from Melchora, who, in his capacity as 
priest and scribe, was present at the interview. From the 
first Melchora had been friendly, and quite ready to tell 
me all he knew of the ancient history of the country, 
hieroglyphics, and the rest ; but about the existing state 
of things, the relations of Ixtil with the priesthood and 
the lordly families, and what may be called the inner 
politics of the day, he had shown great reserve ; and, 
thinking that in this regard he was merely conforming 
to superior orders, I did not like to press him with ques- 
tions which, as likely as not, might be reported to the 
Cacique, who, though he often consulted me, had never, 
as I now saw, given me his entire confidence. 

Latterly, however, Melchora had grown more com- 
municative — acting perhaps on a hint from Ixtil — and, 
without any solicitation on my part, he told me all that 
Q 


242 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


passed at tlie interview which I have described. It 
gave me an unpleasant surprise ; for, though I had 
already gathered that old-fashioned Phantoms, especially 
among the priests, objected to my presence in the 
country, I never thought that an attempt would be 
made to render us responsible for a possible eruption of 
the volcano. True, the Cacique was our friend, and he 
had stood up for us nobly, like the fine fellow he was. 
But would he be able to withstand a movement in which 
nearly the whole of the priesthood and many of the 
lordly families were taking part, since the opposition 
included, not only the fanatics of both orders, but all 
whom my rapid rise in IxtiPs favour had rendered 
envious, or who thought my influence was making him 
more than ever a despiser of old customs ? 

Certainly, a powerful combination, and if the Cacique 
could not withstand it, what then ? 

I put the question plainly to Melchora. 

“ Much would depend on the behaviour of the 
smoking mountain,” he said; “for, though the country 
people took little interest in public affairs, they were 
deeply religious, and stood so much in awe of the fire- 
demons, that they would hack up the priests in any 
measures they might deem necessary to propitiate the 
demons and prevent a catastrophe.” 

“ Which means, in effect, any measures Cochitemi 
may deem necessary ? 33 

“ Cochitemi is the high-priest of the Temple of the 
Sun, and his words have great weight.” 


THE SACRIFICE. 


243 


“ And in that case you think the Lord of Light 
would he forced to yield ? ” 

“ Fairhair is a man of understanding ; he must draw 
his own conclusions.” 

This meant that Melchora did think so. 

“ If the Lord of Light were forced to give way, 
what thinks Melchora would be our fate ? ” 

“ Cochitemi is deep and wily, who can fathom his 
thoughts ? ” answered the scribe with a smile. “ But 
Fairhair is a great physician ; he came down from the 
sky ; no harm is likely to befall him 33 

“ But my friends ? 33 

Melchora did not answer. 

“ What is the Book of Stars ? ” I asked. “ I have 
heard it mentioned before. Why did Cochitemi refer 
to it?” 

“ The Book of Stars is one of the oldest codices we 
possess, and written in pictures which few can under- 
stand. The writer was Mediotaquel Cuixlahuaecan, a 
renowned seer and priest, whose sayings are held in 
high honour, and many of whose predictions have been 
fulfilled. The highly orthodox, and all the priests, hold 
that the Sun God spoke through his mouth, and that if 
his warnings are neglected evil will befall. It is in the 
Book of Stars that are found the words inscribed in the 
Temple of the Cross and the other temples : — 

* When Light the tribute fails to give 
The sun-bom race will cease to live.* 

“ He has also said : f If ye would live, the stranger 
Q 2 


244 THE PHANTOM CITY. 

that comes amongst you shall surely die/ and this was 
doubtless the passage to which Cochitemi referred.” 

“ But I thought there never had been any strangers 
— that I was the first.” 

“ So you are.” 

" How then ” 

“ Is Fairhair alive ? Well, if he had not come in an 
air ship and excited the curiosity and won the friendship 
of the Lord of Light, Melchora thinks it very likely 
that he would not have been alive. Cochitemi wanted 
him to be put to death at once, quoting, in support of 
his demand, the sayings of Mediotaquel Cuixlahuaecan ; 
whereupon Ixtil, who has a subtle wit and not much 
reverence either for the seer or his book, answered and 
said that the stranger should surely die.” 

“ The Lord of Light is a great and good prince,” 
said the high-priest. “ How and when shall this long- 
legged interloper die ? ” 

"Of old age; and so shall the saying of Medio- 
taquel, the seer, be fulfilled.” 

“ And then was Cochitemi very wroth, and went 
away cursing.” 

Now I understood why Ixtil had deprecated the 
coming of my friends, and I began to fear that I had 
got them out of the frying-pan into the fire. His 
reason for acceding to my request was probably quite 
as much a desire to strike a blow at the influence of the 
priests as to oblige me ; and if no harm came of our 
presence in the country the chances were greatly in his 


THE SACRIFICE. 


245 


favour, for the Cacique was both strong and resolute. 
But in the event of the fire* demons taking sides with 
Cochitemi and his abettors the victory might be with 
the latter, and that, I could not disguise from myself, 
meant ruin for us all, Melchora's assurance to the con- 
trary notwithstanding. I was the very last person the 
high-priest was likely to spare. 

“Is there anything in the Book of Stars about 
wizards?" I asked the scribe, after a moment's re- 
flection. 

“Wizards? Would Fairhair like to know? Here 
is the codex," reaching a roll of manuscript, “ let us see. 
This is Ixtil’s copy. There are only two other copies in 
existence — one belonging to the Temple of the Sun, the 
other to the Temple of the Stars. Wizards, wizards ! ” 
turning over the leaves. “ Yes, behold l ” 

“ What does the passage say ? " 

The pictures were so different from the modern 
characters that I could make nothing of them. 

“ The passage runs thus : f If the man who is a 
wizard and has dealings with goblins and gnomes be 
not cast alive to the fire-demons, the smoking mountain 
shall vomit red water and send up clouds of white ashes, 
and the Land of Light will he covered with thick dark- 
ness at noonday." 

I said no more, but I had my thoughts. This pass- 
age was doubtless in Cochitemi's mind when he stig- 
matised me as a wizard, and if he got his way I should 
have to take an involuntary header into the crater of 


246 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the volcano. Not a very agreeable outlook. But I 
hoped the fire-demons would have a lucid interval, and 
so give Wildfell and the others a chance of getting 
away. Once they were gone I should not have much 
to fear. Ixtil would find it easier to protect one than 
five, and my professional successes were making me 
many friends. 

For the present, however, I decided to keep my own 
counsel. It could answer no useful purpose to alarm 
Wildfell prematurely, and as the priests were too much 
taken up with preparations for the sacrificial rite to 
have time for anything else, there was no immediate 
danger. 

Two days later the victim was chosen, and, to the 
great grief of Ixtil and his family, the lot fell upon 
Lula. The Cacique felt the blow keenly, for, though 
in a measure foreseen, he had hoped even against hope 
that his friend's child might, after all, be spared. 

“ If that cursed mountain would only be quiet/’ he 
said fiercely, “ Ixtil would risk everything, and set 
Cochitemi and his infernal crew at defiance ; they are 
the true fire-demons.” 

But the mountain would not be quiet. Every day 
there rose up from the crater a pillar of black smoke, 
which, reflecting the seething lava below, was turned 
at night into a pillar of lurid fire, and the top of the 
volcano was white with ashes. 

Wildfell was very tender-hearted, especially where 
women were concerned, and when I told him what was 


THE SACRIFICE. 


U7 


going to happen he got quite excited and proposed a 
rescue. 

“ Poor girl, poor girl ! Why these Phantoms are 
worse than the wild Indians ! Let us carry her off and 
get out of the country. We can do it — I am sure we 
can.” 

Nothing would have pleased me better if it could 
have been done. But rescue, as I succeeded in convinc- 
ing him, was quite out of the question. The mere 
attempt would have insured our immediate destruction 
and profited poor Lula nothing at all ; and, acting on a 
hint from Ixtil, I advised Wildfell and the others to 
show themselves as little as possible pending the cele- 
bration of the rite. In the excited state of the volcano 
and of public opinion, and with so many forest Indians 
flocking into the city, the least indiscretion might lead 
to unpleasant consequences, the more especially as the 
occasion, being not one of rejoicing, the visitors were 
not allowed (until after the ceremony) their wonted 
solace of fire-water. 

The sacrifice was to take place after dark, and Ixtil, 
as he had promised, allowed me to witness the celebra- 
tion in the Temple of the Cross and accompany the 
funeral procession to the crater of the volcano. The only 
condition he made was that I should put on a red mantle 
and keep myself rather in the background until we 
reached the foot of the smoking mountain, where I 
might be as near him as I liked. 

Slipping in with the crowd, I found a place where 


248 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


I could see without being- seen — in the shadow of one of 
the cyclopean columns of rough-hewn stones that sup- 
ported the roof of the temple. 

Anything more gloomily impressive than the scene 
around me it would be difficult to imagine. Except the 
half-naked Indians, whose faces were hideous with paint, 
the worshippers wore scarlet mantles, and every head was 
uncovered. The temple was lighted with torches, held 
by the men of the Cacique's guard, who were ranged in 
the form of a cross. A raised platform, stretching from 
side to side of the vast building, supported the altar — a 
square stone slab — on each corner of which a flaming 
torch was planted. In front of the altar stood a couch, 
in shape like a bier, and covered with a fair white shroud. 

For a few minutes intense silence prevailed, all heads 
being bowed, as if everyone was offering up an inward 
prayer. Then were heard the strains of a solemn dirge, 
sung as it would seem by an invisible choir, and a pro- 
cession of priests, emerging from the shadows, marched 
solemnly across the platform, and ranged themselves on 
each side of the altar. Their scarlet robes were wrought 
with grotesque devices in black; round their necks 
were twisted the skins of green tree snakes, so well 
preserved that they seemed alive ; their feet and heads 
were bare — faces white with powdered ashes, and each 
man carried a torch, which burnt with a blue light. 

Again the dirge, and from the other side of the 
platform came Ixtil, also robed in scarlet and uncovered, 
followed by Lula, dressed in white, and crowned with 


THE SACRIFICE. 


249 


flowers. The poor girl, who was supported by her 
father and brother, walked erect and bore herself 
bravely, but her lips twitched convulsively, and her face 
was as pale as death. 

They led her to the couch, into which she sank, and 
as, with a wild convulsive movement, the victim covered 
her face with her hands, Ixtil dropped the fatal cloth 
over her head. The dirge, which for an instant had 
subsided, rose once more ; yet higher still rose a long, 
sobbing wail, heart-breaking in the intensity of its 
sadness in which the worshippers gave vent to the 
feelings they were no longer able to contain. 

After another spell of silence, broken only by the 
half-suppressed sobs of the women, the Cacique gently 
raised the cloth and handed it to the high-priest. 

All was over. The carupa had done its work. 

Then Ixtil, whose face was hardly less pallid than 
that of the dead girl, drew the shroud over the body, 
and four priests, coming before the altar, raised the 
couch on their shoulders, the guard formed in two lines, 
and the bearers, preceded by the Cacique, and followed 
by the entire body of priests, holding aloft their blue 
torches, and singing a wild requiem, walked slowly 
down the middle of the temple, escorted by the guard. 

In this order — the blue and red torches still burning — 
the priests still singing, the procession moved towards 
the lake. When it reached the shore the body was 
placed in a large boat, where, by Ixtiks favour, room 
was found for me. Most of the priests, the guard, a 


250 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


number of high personages, and officials came after in 
other boats. All sounds, save the dip of the paddles 
and oars in the water, were now hushed, and we glided 
swiftly through the brooding night towards the smoking 
mountain, over which the pillar of fiery smoke threw a 
lurid and fitful glare. 

At the foot of the volcano all disembarked. The four 
priests again raised the victim's body on their shoulders, 
and the procession formed in the same order as before. 

We mounted slowly, keeping time with the melan- 
choly chant intoned by the priests. But the road being 
wide and well graded the ascent was easy. An hour's 
walking brought us nearly to the top ; but the higher 
we rose the fouler became the air, and, in order to avoid 
being stifled with sulphurous fumes and carbonic acid 
gas, we had to work round to windward. 

At last we reach the upper side of the crater, and 
can see the molten lava, in a state of violent agitation, 
rising and falling not more than twenty feet below us. 
A little higher and it would be over the lower edge. 
Had the wind not been pretty strong, and so kept the 
smoke well away from us, we should have been unable 
to get near enough to complete the rite. 

The four priests bring the bier to the brink. The 
other priests and the guard stand behind them holding 
their torches aloft. Ixtil, his livid face damp with 
sweat, takes the body in his arms. It is almost too 
much for him, for, though a strong man, he is over- 
come with excitement and emotion. I offer to help him. 


THE SACRIFICE. 


251 


“ Back, Fairhair ! ” he exclaims, with a bitter laugh. 
(c Know you not that if the Lord of Light does not this 
with his own hands the demons will refuse the sacri- 
fice ? v 

Then, by a great effort, poising the body on his up- 
lifted hands, he throws it headlong into the crater. But 
in doing this he overbalances himself, and had I not 
caught his kilt as he fell the Cacique would assuredly 
have followed Lula to her fiery grave. 

“ Thanks, Fairhair ! he says, grasping my hand. 
“ You have saved Ixtil’s life ! The stars spoke truly. 
The sacrifice is consummated. Let us be gone ! ” 

And then we hurry down the smoking mountain — 
the torches are quenched, and in darkness and silence 
we row swiftly away as from a place accursed. 


252 


CHAPTER XX Y. 

WILDFELL WANTS TO GO. 

“ We are saved ! ” I exclaimed, as Wildfell and I stood 
on the great colonnade watching the splendid display of 
light and colour which always accompany sunrise in 
the tropics. a We are saved! At any rate, for the 
present.” 

“ Saved ! What are you rambling about, Carlyon?” 

“ Don't you see that the volcano has almost stopped 
smoking ? ” 

“ I do, and I am rather sorry for it. I should like 
to see a good rattling eruption for once in a while — 
streams of molten lava hissing into the lake, clouds of 
cinders darkening the air — a regular flare-up, you know. 
But what has this to do with our being saved ? You are 
a good deal deeper read in theology than I am if you can 
see any connection between a volcano and salvation — 
rather the other way, I should think.” 

“ I did not mean saved in that sense, as you well 
know,” I answered a little tartly. “ But just let me 
tell you this, Wildfell : if the volcano had gone on 
smoking, and spouting cinders, we should have stood a 
pretty good chance of being chucked into the crater.” 

a Come now, no mysteries ! I don't like 'em, as I 


WILDFELL WANTS TO GO. 


253 


think I told you. They make my hair stand on end 
and harrow my soul ; that's why I never read tales of 
mystery and murder. I prefer imagination and humour. 
Tell us what you mean, like a man, there's a good 
fellow." 

I told him. 

“ Well ! may I And do you really think that 

if the volcano had gone on fumigating, that hobgoblin 
of a high-priest — Catchimatit, don't you call him ? — 
that the old villain would have had us cooked in the 
crater ? " 

“ He would have tried, undoubtedly j and I very 
much fear he would have succeeded." 

“ And if the volcano should flare up again — and it 
may do any moment, you know — would he still try it 
on, do you think ? " 

“ I have no doubt he would." 

“ Well, then, the word is, f Quick march, hoys.' In- 
terview your friend Ixtil right off, please, and get us 
leave of absence. I have a decided objection to being 
roasted in red-hot lava. And if you are wise you will 
go with us, Carlyon." 

“ I cannot. I have given my word to stay. As for 
you and Ferdinando — I don't think Gomez and Pedro 
much want to go — I shall speak to the Cacique in the 
course of a day or two. Leave it to me. I will lose 
no time. For though the volcano is at rest now, there 
is no telling how long it may remain so, and I should 
be sorry for you not to get safely away." 


254 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ So should I — very. You will bring the matter 
before the Lord of Light as soon as possible, then ? ” 

“ Certainly.” 

And a few days later I did. 

But to my surprise and annoyance I could not per- 
suade Ixtil to accede to my request. Though for his 
position and opportunities wonderfully enlightened, he 
was not quite as free from superstition as he sometimes 
fancied and pretended, and it was evident that the 
stoppage of the eruption so soon after the sacrifice had 
made a deep impression on his mind. He could not 
help believing that the one event had some connection 
with the other, and he thought the volcano would remain 
quiet for at least a twelvemonth, probably for years. 

He did not, however, attempt to deny that if the 
eruption had continued the priestly party might have 
got the upper hand, in which event my friends would 
have been in danger. 

“ But that is all past/’ he said. ie They are now 
quite safe. Ixtil can guarantee their safety.” 

“ All the same,” I urged, “ the priests — and every- 
body else, probably, but you and me — must be confirmed 
in the idea that the fire-demons can be propitiated, 
and the peril of an eruption averted, by sacrifice ; and 
should there be another outbreak, they may demand 
another sacrifice.” 

“Fairhair speaks truly; but there will not be 
another outbreak. Besides, how can these men go? 
The wild people would destroy them.” 


WILDFELL WANTS TO GO. 


255 


" Not if the Lord of Light would deign to give my 
friends an escort and a safe conduct.” 

“ That cannot be, Fairhair. There are other reasons. 
It is impossible, impossible.” 

“ Must they then remain here all their lives ? Blue- 
eyes has a mother, and if she thinks him dead, her grey 
hairs will be brought with sorrow to the grave.” 

“ Is that indeed so ? Ixtil will reflect. But no, it 
is impossible — for the present. Let Blueeyes have 
patience.” 

When Wildfell heard this he was very much cut up. 
He had counted on getting away at once. 

“ Poor mother ! ” he exclaimed sadly ; “ and Grace 
— they will think I am lost, and mourn me as dead. 
I'll tell you what it is, Carlyon. I mean to go soon — 
whatever this Lord of Light says — even if I have to go 
alone.” 

“I would not advise you, Wildfell. You might as 
well jump into the crater at once. It is hard, I know, 
but your best course is to wait quietly here. Ixtil never 
acts without good reasons, though he does not always 
disclose them ; and I feel sure that in the end he will 
not only let you go, but help you in going. And your 
mother and Miss Grace will surely not despair. You 
have not been away a year yet — and that is no long 
time for exploring a country.” 

u Well, I will try to be resigned. And I did tell 
them, when I wrote last from Campeachy, that they 
must not be surprised if they did not hear from me for 


256 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


a pretty long time. But what can I do in this very 
beautiful, but dead-alive country? There does not 
seem to be much opening for trade, or demand for 
notions.” 

“ Learn Phantom and fish.” 

“ Well, I guess I will. Got any hooks ? ” 

“ You can have any quantity. Phantoms are expert 
fishers.” 

“ Good for the Phantoms. But a fellow cannot 
always be fishing. Got any books ? 33 

c< Yes, the Bible and Shakespeare, which I shall be 
glad to lend you.” 

€t Thank you. They happen to be just the two books 
I know by heart. But all the same it will be pleasant 
and profitable to look at them occasionally — by way of 
refreshing my memory, you know.” 

Gomez passed his time strumming on his banjo and 
picking up Phantom, in which he soon became tolerably 
proficient, and, being a lively fellow, made himself many 
friends. Ferdinando, however, would do nothing but 
loaf about and drink, and he ended by getting himself 
into serious trouble — went into the Temple of the Sun 
smoking, spat on the floor, and insulted a priest. He 
was arrested at once and taken before Ixtil, who was 
naturally very angry, and sent for me. 

(< Tell Blackbeard,” said the Cacique, “ that in spit- 
ting on the floor of the temple he has committed a 
crime which the priests, if they had their way, would 
punish with death. But in consideration of his igno- 


WILDFELL WANTS TO GO. 


257 


ranee he is pardoned. Let him, however, beware. The 
priests never forgive ; and if he commits another such 
offence Ixtil will leave the fool to his fate.” 

Three days later Gomez came to me with a white face. 

“ Ferdinando was in a fit,” he said. “ He had left 
him sleeping in his hammock, where he sometimes lay 
all day long, and when he returned found him, as he 
thought, sleeping still. But do as he would he could 
not rouse the man, and feared greatly that something 
was the matter.” 

<c Yes,” I said, when I saw Ferdinando's face and 
touched his hand ; “ something is the matter. He is 
dead ! ” 

“Dead! Impossible. He was quite well this morning/’ 

“ That may be. How long was he alone ? 33 

“ Several hours. Ever since this morning.” 

After examining the body carefully, I came to the 
conclusion that the man had not died a natural death. 
I felt almost certain, indeed, that he had been killed by 
carupa , administered while he slept. 

I reported the case forthwith to the Cacique. 

“ Ixtil is not much surprised,” he observed gravely. 
“Said he not that the priests never forgive? And 
spitting in a temple they regard as a deadly insult to 
the Sun God and themselves.” 

“ You think Cochitemi has done this, then ? ” 

" Fairhair need not ask. He knows the high-priest. 
But as for this Blackbeard, there is nothing to regret. 
He was a drunkard and a fool, and deserved not to live.” 

B 


258 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


" Well/' said Wildfell, when I repeated the remark 
to him, “ Ferdinando was a seal la wag*, I admit. All 
the same it is rather hard law to kill a fellow for expecto- 
rating in the wrong place, and I am sorry he has gone. 
I was the means of bringing him here, and he might 
have helped me to get away. The man had his good 
points, too, and he was company. Yes, doctor, I am 
sorry these wretches have done for Ferdinando." 

" So am I. Especially as they may be doing for 
some other body in the same way." 

“ That old hobgoblin again, eh ! You think we had 
better keep our weather eyes open ? " 

“ I do indeed. There are no doors, only mats ; and 
nothing is easier than for anybody — say an emissary of 
Coehitemi — to slip in after nightfall, when we are all 
asleep, and drop a cloth, saturated with carujoa , over a 
fellow's head." 

“ And then?" 

tf He would have slept his last sleep." 

“ Hie without knowing it, as poor Ferdinando did. 
Yes, it behoves us to be on our guard. What do you 
propose ? " 

“ I will shift my hammock here, and we will watch 
through the night, turn and turn about." 

“ Agreed. And I promise you that if I catch one 
of those priestly hobgoblins prowling round he'll have 
waked his last wake.'’ 

But, as often happens in life, the danger we feared 
did not come in the shape we expected. 


269 


CHAPTER XXYI. 

SUMACS DANGER AND IXTIl/s OATH. 

A few weeks afterwards typhoid fever broke out, 
and wrought great havoc among the people of the 
island. It came suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, 
and struck down its victims right and left, without 
respect either for quality or rank. The cacique families, 
who suffered severely, were soon in a condition of utter 
panic ; and the native physicians, though, as I have 
already remarked, fairly skilled in medicine, quite lost 
their heads. 

Ixtil appealed to me, and I willingly did all I could, 
and effected several cures ; but I told him plainly that 
the trouble arose from bad sanitary conditions, and that 
unless the cause were removed the pest would continue. 
He gave me full power to do whatever I thought neces- 
sary, and I went to work with a will. 

It is not necessary for me to say more about the 
measures I adopted than that they brought me into 
conflict with Cochitemi, and I had to set him completely 
at defiance. 

In the end, these measures were effectual ; but the 
epidemic was a great misfortune in every way : it not 
only diminished IxtiPs influence by carrying off some 
of his most devoted supporters, but led to a revival of 
R 2 


260 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


many obsolete superstitious practices and an outburst 
of fanaticism, which greatly increased the power of the 
priests. 

Nor did the evil end here. 

One day, when I called on the Cacique to present 
my report and discuss those of the native physicians, I 
perceived, before either of us spoke, that something was 
seriously wrong. So far, whatever he may have felt, 
Ixtil had borne the trouble bravely. Even the death 
of his dearest friends had neither disturbed the repose 
of his manner nor ruffled the serenity of his temper. 
But now his face was hard set, and his look that of 
a man who has received evil tidings, or is bracing him- 
self for a struggle with some terrible misfortune. 

I waited for him to speak first. 

“ Does Fairhair know what has come to pass ? ” he 
asked in a hollow voice. “ Cotocachi ” (a physician) 
“ reports that there died last night two of the f our sur- 
viving maidens who are of marriageable age this year/’ 

“ Poor girls ! I am very sorry," I said, not for the 
moment grasping the import of the remark. 

“Does not Fairhair understand?" he continued almost 
fiercely. “ There are only two left — and one is Suma.” 

“ Gracious Heaven ! And, if the other dies " 

“ Suma must be the next victim, and Ixtil — oh, Spirit 
of the Sun and Light of the Stars — Ixtil will have to 
destroy his own child !” and the Cacique, covering his 
face with his robe, sank with a moan into his chair. 

My agitation was hardly less than his. “ Suma, my 


SUMACS DANGER AND IXTIl/s OATH. 


261 


pupil, my so bright, so intelligent ! Suma to be sacri- 

ficed — killed by her own father — thrown into the volcano ! 
Good God ! it could not — should not — must not be ! ” 

“ But there is another maiden, Lord of Light, and 
so long as she lives the lot cannot fall on Suma.” 

“ True ! Yet think you she will live ? Even if the 
fever spares her, Cochitemi will not.” 

“But cannot she be watched, protected, guarded, 
until — until ” 

“Napo, the father of Cara, is the high-priest's 
friend. His house is always open to Cochitemi. You 
will see. And look there ! 33 pointing to the volcano, 
which was throwing up a cloud of black smoke. a If 
that goes on there will be danger — danger for all. The 
people are in a humour to do anything the priests bid 
them, and the priests will demand sacrifice — the last 
was so efficacious. And no wonder, when even Ixtil 
himself thought that the maiden tribute might per- 
chance have propitiated the demons. Fairhair was right, 
and Ixtil thought foolishness.” 

“ But hearken, Fairhair,” laying his hand on my 
shoulder, " the Lord of Light swears by the head of 
his father, by the Spirit of the Stars, and by the sacred 
emblems imprinted on his brow, that, come what may — 
whether Napo's daughter lives or dies — Suma shall not 
be sacrificed. Better let the mountain vomit fire and 
ashes, better let the lake be dried up and this fair 
island perish, than commit a crime which Ixtil could 
not survive and the Great Spirit would never forgive I ” 


262 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

THE PLOT THICKENS. 

“ The plot thickens, Wildfell," I observed to my friend 
a few days later, as we were smoking our evening cigars 
under the great colonnade. “ Your desire to witness a 
great flare-up is likely to be gratified in more senses 
than one, I think/' 

“ You have news, then? Something has happened?" 

“ Something has happened, and something is 
happening." 

“ I know what you mean — the volcano. Yes, those 
fire-demons seem to be firing up to-night as if their 
lives depended on it. The smoke is all aglow. I guess 
it is pretty hot down in the stoke-hole there. But why 
so glum, old man ? Is there anything else wrong — 
anything besides the volcano ? " 

“ Napo's daughter is dead." 

“ Of the fever ? " 

“ They say so ; but I know better. Ixtil sent me 
to look at the body. She died of the same complaint as 
Ferdinando." 

e( Poor girl ! I am awfully sorry. What next ? " 

“ I don't know. But the outlook is black for us all, 
Wildfell, and God only knows what will be the upshot. 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


263 


Melchora tells me that the priests see in these things — 
the epidemic, the renewal of the eruption, and, above 
all, the death of every noble maiden of marriageable 
age except Sum a — proofs that the Phantoms are 
losing the divine favour, that they have committed 
some grievous sin, and that, unless the cause of it be 
removed and atonement made, some awful calamity 
will happen. They are going to make a strong repre- 
sentation in this sense to Ixtil, and to-morrow he will 
be told what is expected of him.” 

“ And suppose he tells those meddling priests to go 
to the deuce; what then? I would if I were in his 
place.” 

“ You would do wrong. The priests are stronger 
than the Cacique just now, and he will have to swim 
with the stream, or risk being deposed and, perhaps, 
murdered.” 

“ What will he do, then ? ” 

“ Temporise. At any rate, I should think so. More 
I cannot tell you. What he does depends on what the 
priests demand.” 

“ When will this representation you speak of be 
made ? ” 

“ To-morrow morning.” 

“ When will you know the result ? ” 

“ To-morrow afternoon, when I make my accustomed 
visit.” 

“ I should like to know what passes. It may affect 
us, may it not ? ” 


264 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ Rather ! Melchora may have news in the morning, 
and in that case I shall get to know sooner/' 

“ Do you know, doctor, I have a foreboding that 
something curious is going to happen." 

u So have I ; more curious than pleasant, I fear." 

“ And I don't feel a hit like catching fish to-morrow, 
so I shall just loaf about here instead, and see what 
turns up." 

After this we both turned in, but, so far as I was 
concerned, not to sleep. The foreboding which I shared 
with Wildfell kept me awake all night long. Ixtil's 
weakness was our danger and our enemies' opportunity. 
I had incurred Cochitemi's enmity, and he might be 
trusted not to let slip the chance of feeding fat the 
grudge he bore me. What shape would his vengeance 
take? 

And poor Suma ! Despite her father's oath and his 
evident sincerity, I did not see how he could save her. 
If the eruption continued, and the sacrifice should not 
be made, the Phantoms would revolt to a man ; even his 

own guards would turn against him. And yet 

Poor Suma ! The thought of her being led like a 
lamb to the slaughter — the ghastly shroud — the fatal 
cloth — the weird procession — the midnight sail — the 
flaming crater — fired my brain and rendered rest im- 
possible. I got up, walked about until dawn, then went 
down to the lake and refreshed myself with a long swim. 

I returned to my quarters feeling very much better ; 
my spirits rose with the sun, and when Wildfell and I 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


265 


talked things over at breakfast, I took a decidedly more 
hopeful view of them than I had done the night before. 

“ Ixtil is a strong man,” I said ; “ and though 
recent events have rather impaired his authority and 
increased the influence of the priests, he is still the Lord 
of Light, the descendant of a long line of princes ; the 
Phantoms hold him and his family in high honour ; they 
are a gentle people, and it would take a good deal to 
make them rebel, or side with the priests against their 
prince.” 

"I guess you are about right, Carlyon; only when 
people get real scared they often lose their heads ; and 
what with the fever and the volcano, it almost seems as 
if these Phantoms were getting real scared — just in 
the temper to believe all the nonsense the priests tell 
them, and do whatever they order, without much 
thinking whether it is right or wrong. Did you ever see 
a lot of people real scared ? ” 

“ No, I don't think I did.” 

“ I remember once in our war Hallo 1 ” 

“ What the ?" 

“ Look there ! What is up now ? " 

What, indeed ? While Wildfell was talking, the 
mat, which served as a door, had been noiselessly drawn 
aside, and a dozen men of the Cacique's guard, fully 
armed, and headed by Coxoh, were filing into the room. 

“ Coxoh ! What means this ? ” I asked, in utter 
surprise. u I hope you are not a bearer of evil tidings ? 
The Lord of Light has surely not " and then I 


266 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


stopped. I could not bring myself to express the fear 
which had flashed for a moment into my mind — that 
Ixtil had been murdered. 

“ Coxoh, to his heartfelt regret, is the bearer of evil 
tidings. But duty is duty ; he must obey his master 
and tell the truth. The Lord of Light has decreed the 
arrest of Fairhair, Blueeyes, and Blackbeard, and ordered 
them to be removed to the vaulted chamber under the 
northern corridor.” 

“ Ixtil ordered me under arrest ! Impossible ; I don't 
believe it/' I exclaimed, starting to my feet. “ I 
refuse to go. Where is your authority ? 99 

Coxoh pointed to his men, signifying thereby that 
the guard never performed any duty not specially 
ordered by the Cacique. And Coxoh — it was not in 
the man's nature to act in a matter of this sort without 
authority. Monstrous, incredible as it might seem, 
Ixtil really had turned against us. The priests had 
triumphed indeed. 

“ Well, what is the trouble now? '' asked Wildfell. 

I told him, adding that even yet, with such incon- 
trovertible evidence before my eyes as Coxoh and his 
men, I found it almost impossible to believe that Ixtil 
had betrayed us. 

“Not much doubt about that, I fear. You have 
been mistaken in this man, Carlyon. He is a scallawag. 
Well, what will you do ? Shall we have a fight for it? 
They are only little chaps, these Phantom soldiers. I 
could wring a few of their necks with ease.” 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


267 


“ They have long spears, though/’ 

“ Wrest a couple of them out of their hands before 
they know what they are doing. We could lick the lot, 
you and I. I am sure we could. At any rate, we can 
try, and if they finish us it will be better than being 
cooked in the crater.” 

“ No ! To do so would be throwing away a chance, 
and I think I see a gleam of hope. If Ixtil were really 
angry — if he meant mischief — he would not have sent 
Coxoh, a friend, to arrest us, and we should be dealt 
with in a much less ceremonious style. There is more 
in this than meets the eye. Let us go quietly to prison, 
my friend, and trust in Providence.” 

“ As you please, old man. But I should like to spit 
a few of these small chaps on their own toasting 
forks. That’s a fact.” 

I told Coxoh that we were ready to follow him, 
whereupon he led the way to the vaulted chamber, which 
was in a part of the palace I had never visited before. 
But though underground it was well-lighted, and by no 
means a bad place for a prison. It closed with a huge 
flag, turning on a pivot — the first door, if door it could 
be called, I had seen in Phantomland — and Coxoh told 
us that a guard would be stationed outside, night and 
day; that we should be regularly supplied with what- 
ever food we wanted, that we might smoke at discre- 
tion, and otherwise make ourselves as comfortable as 
circumstances permitted. 

An hour later he returned with Gomez, who, at the 


268 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


time of our arrest, was outside. Though much surprised 
the Spaniard was not depressed. He leaned his shoulder 
against the wall, which was composed of great panel- 
like slabs, crossed one leg over the other, played his 
banjo and sang (when he was not smoking) with as 
much seeming enjoyment as if he had been serenading 
a senorita in his native Sevilla. 

As for Wildfell and myself, we passed the day in 
pacing about (the vaulted chamber being fortunately 
both cool and spacious), sometimes moodily smoking, at 
others discussing our prospects and position (without 
being able to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion as 
to either), until night came, when, weary and worn out 
with fatigue and excitement, we turned into our ham- 
mocks, “all standing,” as sailors say — without un- 
dressing. 

“ I wonder if things will look any better for us 
to-morrow ? ” said W ildfell, sadly. “ When I think of 
my mother and Grace it gives me a kind of shiver ! I 
was catching fish yesterday, and now I am caught 
myself.” 

“ Let the morrow take thought for itself, old man. 
We shall feel all the better for a long sleep. At any 
rate, I shall. I did not close my eyes last night, and 
now I can hardly keep them open.” 

Whether Wildfell answered I have no idea, for I 
went off at once into a sound sleep, and remembered 
nothing more until — as it seemed — several hours later, 
when I was wakened by a light touch on my shoulder. 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


269 


“ Fairhair ! 33 said a soft voice. 

“Yes — wliat — Wildfell — is it time to get ” 

“ Hush, Fairhair 1 Not so loud ! 33 and a soft hand 
was laid on my lips. 

Now thoroughly aroused I looked round, and saw, in 
the light of the struggling moonbeams, a white phan- 
tom-like figure close by my hammock. 

“ Who are you ? 93 I asked. “ And what ” 

“ Knows not Fairhair his pupil ? ” 

“ Can it be Suma ? It is surely her voice.” 

“ And herself. The Lord of Light wants to see 
Fairhair. Come ! 33 

I slipped out of my hammock at once, and followed 
the girl in a state of considerable wonderment ; the more 
especially as she took me in a direction quite opposite 
to the entrance. But when we got quite close to the 
wall I saw that one of the slabs, which I had thought 
quite solid, was ajar. Like the door, it swung on a 
pivot, and led into a passage, which we entered. 

After the slab had been pushed back we were in 
pitchy darkness. Suma gave me her hand. 

“ Fairhair knows not the way,” she said. “ Suma 
does. Come ! 33 

And we went swiftly through long narrow passages, 
built, as I conceived, within the walls, and up many 
steps, until we reached a hanging mat, under which 
gleamed a light. Pushing this aside we found ourselves 
in the presence of Ixtil, the Lady of Light, and Zoe. 

“ Can Fairhair forgive this seeming unkindness ? ” 


270 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


said the Cacique, coming forward and taking my 
hand. a It is seeming only. Ixtil is as much Fair- 
hair's friend as ever." 

“ I am sure that whatever Ixtil has ordered must 
be for the best. I and my friends are willing to con- 
form to his wishes in every respect, and we place our- 
selves entirely at his disposal." 

“ Thanks, good Fairhair. Ixtil has sent for him 
that he may explain the things that have come to pass, 
and lay before him the plan of action which he has 
woven in his brain." 

“ Listen ! " (leading me away from the ladies) . 
“ There came this morning to the Hall of Audience all 
the priests of the four temples, and half the chiefs of 
the lordly families. Their bearing was very humble, 
and their protestations of loyalty very loud, which be- 
tokened, thought Ixtil, that they were going to make 
large demands — and he was right. The Land of Light 
had suffered much from the pest, they said, and the 
condition of the smoking mountain grows every day 
more threatening. The fire-demons ask for another 
victim, and, unless they are propitiated, great calamities 
will occur. Then their spokesman pointed out that 
these troubles have occurred only since the coming of 
the strangers, whom the Lord of Light has so much 
befriended ; and the priests, having consulted the stars 
(which always say what they desire) and studied the 
words of Mediotaquel Cuixlaliuaecan (which they always 
interpret to suit their own views), declare that the sole 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


271 


means whereby the favour of the Sun God can be re- 
gained and the wrath of the fire-demons assuaged, is to 
put the strangers to death and pay the maiden tribute 
in anticipation and at once, lest worse should befall.” 

“ Lest worse should befall ! ” I exclaimed. 

“ There spoke the high-priest. Suma is the only 
eligible maiden left alive. If she were to die — or 
disappear — the rite could not be performed, and then 
the world would be at an end.” 

“ This is CochitemFs revenge.” 

“ And a very fine revenge ! If he could have the 
strangers put to death, and force Ixtil to sacrifice Suma 
to the fire-demons, his triumph would be complete. 
But it must not be, and, if Fairhair will give his help, 
this priestly plotter shall be utterly defeated and his 
schemes set at naught.” 

“ Has Fairhair not said that he is entirely at Ixtil’s 
disposal? He has only to say the word and Fairhair 
will obey. What said the Lord of Light in answer 
to these demands ? ” 

“ If Ixtil could have done as he desired he would 
have put the high-priest into bonds, and dropped over 
his face the cloth of death. But a ruler is only one, 
his people are many. There are times when he has to 
yield, like the palm-tree which bends for a moment 
before the blast, and to meet force with guile. Ixtil 
knew that resistance might be fatal to his authority, 
possibly to his life ; he knew, too, that it is wise to 
yield with a good grace. So, after listening patiently 


272 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


to the foolish words of the priests and their dupes, he 
complimented them on their wisdom and piety, ad- 
mitted that he had made a mistake in harbouring these 
strangers, and said that he should order them straightway 
into custody — to he dealt with as hereafter might be 
determined. As for the propitiatory rite, he observed that, 
however painful it might be to his fatherly feelings to 
immolate his own daughter, he would allow neither 
self-interest nor affection to stand in the way of duty. 
Better that one should die, however precious, than that 
all should suffer. 

“Cochitemi asked when the sacrifice should take place? 

“Ixtil answered half a moon hence, unless in the 
meanwhile the fire-demons should cease from troubling. 
Then the high-priest observed that Fairhair was a great 
magician, and that if he were not closely watched he 
would either get away or work some terrible mischief ; 
and he recommended that he should be put to death at 
once. To which Ixtil replied that a thing of such 
grave import must he done with due deliberation, that 
the vaulted chamber would be watched by a detachment 
of the royal guard, and if Cochitemi liked, for further 
security, to station a few of his priests about the entrance 
he was at liberty to do so.” 

“ Insaying this Ixtil was deceiving Cochitemi?” I said. 

“ The Lord of Light was opposing force with guile. 
The high-priest thinks himself wise and strong. When 
he pits himself against his prince he is like a child who 
fancies himself a man.” 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


273 


“No doubt. But as yet, owing probably to the 
dulness of his wit, Fairhair does not see in what way 
the Lord of Light is going to get the better of the high- 
priest. He has promised to put the strangers to death 
and sacrifice Suma ” 

“ Ah, but he does not intend to perform. Listen, 
Fairhair! He and his friends must go, and Suma 
must go with them. - ” 

“ Suma go with us ? Impossible ! ” 

If Ixtil had told me to rig up my balloon and fly 
with him and all his family to Saturn, I could not have 
been more surprised. Take that soft-skinned, delicately- 
nurtured young girl through the interminable forests 
and over the precipitous mountains which hemmed us in 
on every side, expose her to hardships that hardly the 
strongest could hope to survive — and in company with 
four men ! The Cacique was surely either gone mad, or 
I had mistaken his character and he was a fool. 

“ Why, impossible ? Fairhair is thinking of the 
difficulties of the journey, and that it is not seemly for 
a maiden to travel alone with four men not of her 
family .” 

“ The Lord of Light has divined Fairhair’s thoughts.” 

“ The journey will neither be long nor hard. There 
is a short and easy way, of which none save Ixtil and 
Morotoco, the chief huntsman, know the secret; and 
when Suma leaves her father she will be Fairhair's 
wife.” 

What next ? 

s 


£74 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Mad, and no mistake ! Suma my wife. The idea 
was absurd, preposterous, impossible — yet, somehow or 
other, not altogether displeasing. Suma was attractive, 
intelligent, and comely, and, there was no denying it, I 

liked the girl. In other circumstances perhaps 

“ Fairhair hesitates. Perhaps he is displeased with 
Ixtil's proposal, or desires not to become Suma’s hus- 
band. But he must know that in no other way can 
the maiden's life be saved and the Lord of Light 
enabled to abolish the custom of human sacrifice. For 
in the absence of an acceptable victim the rite cannot 
be performed, and once omitted it will never be 
resumed." 

" Ixtil's wish is Fairhair's law. But Suma — is she 
willing to leave father and mother, country and friends, 
to dwell in a distant land with a strange people ? " 

“ Suma is an obedient daughter, and will do as she 
is bid. But her heart has gone out to her teacher, and 
she will make him a loving wife. Let Fairhair ask the 
maiden himself. The Great Spirit knows how dear is 
the girl to her father and mother, and how terrible will 
be their grief when she is gone. But better so than 
that she should be thrown to the fire-demons. And 
they know that Fairhair will cherish the child as the 
apple of his eye ; and, in the time to come, her love for 
her husband will be greater than her sorrow for her 
kindred in the Land of Light/’ 

Without waiting for a reply the Cacique went to the 
other end of the room, where his wife and daughter 


THE PLOT THICKENS. 


275 


were sitting near a table, on which lay a map of the 
Land of Light and a part of the territory of the wild 
Indians. 

And then he told me the secret of the short way and 
explained the route we should have to take. 

Westward of the volcano the lake empties itself into 
a broad swift stream, known as the Silent River, which, 
after running three days’ journey in a southerly direc- 
tion, strikes the base of a line of lofty mountains, and 
then turns abruptly northward. These mountains are 
unbroken by a single pass, and too precipitous to be 
climbed — no human foot has ever trod their rugged and 
inaccessible summits — but within an hour’s walk from 
the Silent River the barrier is pierced by an underground 
passage, a natural tunnel, whose southern exit is within 
a short distance of a Guatemalan village. 

The existence of this passage had, however, until it 
was revealed to me, been known only to two persons — 
the reigning Cacique and his chief huntsman. 

“ And Ixtil must ask Fairhair and his comrades,” 
said the Cacique, “to swear by the God they worship 
and all else they hold sacred to keep secret the locality of 
the passage and the position of the Land of Light. Our 
safety and our happiness, the very existence of our 
ancient race, depend on our isolation. Once let neigh- 
bouring peoples obtain access to the valley, either as 
friends or foes, and our fate will be that of our Toltec 
ancestors and their Aztec conquerors. What says Fair- 
hair ? Will he do this ? ” 


276 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


“ With all his heart. So also will Blueeyes, Black- 
heard, and Pedro .” 

“ Pedro is a Christianised Indian. He cannot be 
trusted. He must stay here. Never fear, he shall 
suffer no harm. Suma will now lead Fairhair back to 
the vaulted chamber. To-morrow night we shall meet 
again. Meanwhile, not a word of this to the others.'” 

Again Suma placed her soft velvety hand in mine, 
and we threaded together the dark passages which led 
to the vaulted chamber. As we were about to part I 
asked her if she knew what her father had proposed. 

“ Suma knows,” was the answer. 

“ And is she willing to leave the Land of Light, and 
all she holds dear, and go with Fairhair, she knows not 
whither, never to return ? ” 

“ What her father thinks best for her family and 
people that would Suma do, though it should break her 
heart. But she knows that Fairhair will be kind to 
IxtiPs daughter, and it is better to be his wife than 
Cochi temi’s victim.” 

“ Suma has a noble nature,” I said, “ and Fairhair 
will do his utmost to make her happy and render him- 
self worthy of her love.” 

And then I kissed her hand and let her go, and, 
slipping quietly into the vaulted chamber, regained my 
hammock without wakening my companions. 


277 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 
ixtil’s scheme and cochitemi's fall. 

At our next interview (the night after) Ixtil unfolded 
his scheme, and we came to an agreement as to how it 
should be carried out. 

Suma was to feign illness, on which her mother, 
protesting that I was the only doctor in whom she had 
confidence, would have me brought up to her room under 
escort, when the Cacique would inform me that if I suc- 
ceeded in curing his daughter my life might possibly be 
spared ; and as her death was the very last thing the 
priests desired, this proceeding could not fail to meet 
with general approval. But instead of curing her I was 
to put her to sleep with carupa, diluted in such a way as 
to render it innocuous, and then declare her dead. On 
this (burials in Phantomland taking place immediately 
after decease) the body would be straightway laid (as is 
usual in such cases) in a wickerwork coffin, preparatory 
to its being conveyed to the royal mausoleum within the 
precincts of the Temple of the Sun. But before this 
could be done Ixtil would secretly take Suma away and 
replace her with a lay figure, which would be duly laid 
in the ground instead of the supposed corpse. 

As soon after the funeral as possible Suma and I 
were to be married — by the Cacique himself (who, as 


278 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


Chief of the State, had power to tie and untie the matri- 
monial knot), assisted by Melchora the scribe, whom Ixtil 
could trust as implicitly as Mocoroto, the huntsman. 

Immediately after the ceremony, Suma (attired as a 
boy), Wildfell, Gomez, and myself, were to go down to 
a little cove not far from the palace, where we should 
find Mocoroto waiting for us with his boat. If we had 
a fair wind we might easily reach the Silent River before 
sunrise. If not, we could all row, the boat being large. 
Mocoroto would show us the entrance to the tunnel, and 
once on the other side of the mountains we should have 
no difficulty, the Indians of that part of the country 
being tame, and ready to do anything for gold. 

“ But you must not go away empty-handed,” said 
Ixtil. “ Here gold is a superfluity, yonder it is a neces- 
sity. The Lady of Light and her daughters will fill 
the folds of your tunics with gold discs, and you may 
take with you as many more as you care to carry. And 
perhaps these green pebbles may be of use. The wild 
men find them somewhere on the mountains.” 

The “ green pebbles ” were a heap of uncut emeralds. 
“ These are very precious, Ixtil. In Europe they are 
worth much more than their weight in gold.” 

Let them be Suma’s marriage-gift then. And 
they are not all. She shall have as many more.” 

“ Suma will be rich.” 

“ Better so. She will not know want, and it would 
not be fitting for a prince's daughter to be a portionless 
bride.” 


IXTII/S SCHEME AND COCHITEMl’s FALL. 279 

After some further conversation, I returned to my 
prison, accompanied, as before, by Suma, and, as before, 
I got back to my hammock without attracting the 
attention of either Wildfell or Gomez. 

In the morning, however, I told them everything. 
At first Wildfell refused to believe me. He would 
have it that I had been dreaming, and remained obdu- 
rate in his scepticism until I showed him the secret 
entrance, and walked with him a little way up the 
passage into which it opened. 

“ Well," he exclaimed, convinced at last, “if this 
does not beat cockfighting! And you are really en- 
gaged to an Indian princess, a Phantom Pocohontas, 
with pockets full of emeralds, and I am going home 
to Grace and my mother with as much gold as I can 
carry (I can carry a thundering lot, Carlyon). How 
beautifully it will reconcile them to my long absence. 
No reproaches, you bet. If I could only wire a full 
account of our adventures to the New York Herald , 
winding up with a glowing description of the wedding, 
the wild beauty of the bride and the dashing appearance 
of the bridegroom, it would be worth a small fortune. 
They would give dollars for it, my friend.” 

“Very likely. But whatever happens, Wildfell, 
don't let anything of this get into the papers. And 
our adventures are not over yet. Much has to be done 
before we get away, and there is many a slip between 
the cup and the lip, you know.” 

“ That is true. All the same, we are bound to get 


280 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


away this time, and I feel sure we shall. Are we to have 
the honour — Gomez and I — of seeing you turned off.” 

“ Certainly; and at the first British Consulate we 
come to we will have it done over again.” 

“By way of making assurance doubly sure, I 
suppose ? ” 

“ Exactly.” 

“ Right for you. When does it come off — marriage 
number one, I mean ? ” 

“ In four or five days.” 

“ When does Miss Suma’s fatal illness begin ? ” 

“This morning. I daresay it has begun already. 
I expect to be sent for before the day is over.” 

In this expectation I was not disappointed. A few 
hours later the big flag swung round on its pivot, and 
Coxoh, followed by his guardsmen, entered the vaulted 
chamber. 

After respectfully saluting me, he said that the 
Lady Suma had been taken seriously ill, and the Lord 
of Light required my presence in the royal apartments. 

To this order I of course rendered due obedience, 
and, accompanied by my escort, went forthwith to the 
part of the palace inhabited by Ixtil and his family. 
Suma was lying on a couch apparently very ill — she 
acted the part of malade imaginaire to admiration — and 
her mother and sister were in great distress. After 
making the usual inquiries, and observing that the case, 
though grave, was by no means hopeless, I asked leave 
to go to my own room in order to prepare a potion. 


IXTIl/s SCHEME AND COCHITEMl's FALL. 281 

At this point; Ixtil, followed by the high-priest and 
two other personages, appeared on the scene. Without 
returning my greeting, he told me sternly that I had 
been accused of witchcraft, and merited death ; but that 
if I succeeded in curing the Lady Suma my life might 
possibly he spared. 

I answered quietly that I would do my best, and 
had little doubt that the Lady Suma would speedily 
recover. I moreover asked that if the potion I was 
about to prepare did not produce the desired effect, 
I might be sent for again as soon as possible. 

In the result I was sent for before sunset, for the 
medicine, as I meant it to do (though essentially harm- 
less), had made Suma feel sickly, and look as if she 
were really very ill. 

I expressed great concern, and her mother and I 
watched by her bedside far into the night. Towards 
morning Suma to all appearance passed quietly away; 
and so deathlike did she seem that I had some difficulty 
in persuading the Lady of Light that her daughter still 
lived. But as I had prepared the carupa with great care, 
diluting it largely with alcohol, I felt sure that the 
unconsciousness would not last more than a few hours. 
(I need hardly say that I had informed nobody, save 
Ixtil, of the anaesthetic, as distinguished from the toxic, 
properties of the drug.) 

When I formally pronounced life to be extinct, in 
the presence of the Lady of Light and her attendants, 
all broke out into loud lamentations, and Ixtil, hearing 


282 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


the outcry, appeared on the scene in a state of well-as- 
sumed sorrow and excitement ; and with many reproaches 
for my incompetence, and threats of vengeance for my 
failure, ordered me back to the vaulted chamber. 

A little later (as I afterwards heard) came Cochi- 
temi, with several officers of state, to view the body. 
The high-priest, who was in a mighty rage at being 
robbed of his victim, said I had killed the maiden by 
my magical arts in revenge for my incarceration, and 
proposed that I should be cast alive to the fire-demons 
forthwith. 

Ixtil answered sternly that justice should be done, 
and then Suma was folded in a shroud, and in the 
sight of all placed in a basket-work coffin, where, I need 
hardly say, she could easily breathe. 

The burial was to take place at midnight, and during 
the day Ixtil and his wife secretly conveyed Suma to 
another room, and put in the coffin a dummy of about 
the same weight as the supposed corpse. 

The dummy was buried with much ceremony, and 
twenty-four hours afterwards Suma had fully recovered 
from the effects of the potion and the carupa. 

There was now nothing to prevent our departure ; 
and as Cochitemi and the priests were clamouring for 
my immediate execution, Ixtil thought we had better 
leave at once, and fixed the marriage for the fourth 
evening after the funeral. 

In the meantime every preparation, possible in 
the circumstances, was made. Most of our effects 


IXTII/S SCHEME AND COCHITEMl’s EALL. 283 

were taken down to the boat, and, at my suggestion, 
a tent, which would also serve as an awning, was put 
on hoard for my wife's special use. It was impossible 
to keep all this absolutely secret, and I greatly feared 
that Cochitemi, who was as cunning as a serpent and 
as watchful as a cat, might get wind of what was going 
on, and then — as I said to Wildfell — “ there would be 
the deuce to pay." 

However, all went on well. At the time appointed 
we left the vaulted chamber by the secret door, and 
gained the room to which Suma had previously con- 
ducted me, safely and unobserved. 

Everything was in readiness. Ixtil, the Lady of 
Light, Zoe, Melchora — all were there. Suma — albeit 
sorrowful, as well she might be, looked very charming 
in her male attire, and in the loving confidence with 
which she came forward and, placing her hands in 
mine, looked up into my eyes, there was something 
unspeakably pathetic. It touched me to the heart. 

After we had put on our gold-quilted tunics, and 
sworn to reveal neither the whereabouts of the Land 
of Light nor of the passage through the mountains, the 
marriage ceremony was performed, and the record of it, 
written in hieroglyphics by Melchora the scribe, handed 
to Suma. 

Then came the hardest part of all — the parting. 
The poor mother seemed as if she could not let her 
child go. Zoe wept bitterly. Ixtil, his eyes brimming 
with tears, took both my hands between his and, unable 


284 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


to command his voice, looked with his expressive eyes 
all he would have said, and hade me a mute farewell. 

For a few minutes we all kept silent. Then the 
Cacique, by a strong effort, mastered his emotion. 

" This must cease, and they must depart,” he said ; 
“ time is going on, and there is danger in delay.” 

He had hardly spoken, when, as if to confirm his 
words, the curtain in the doorway was drawn aside, and 
Cochitemi, followed by four other men, armed, and in 
civilian costume, appeared at the threshold. 

“ Ah ! ” exclaimed the high-priest, half, as it seemed, 
in surprise, half in exultation. “ Fairhair, the wizard, 
and the Lady Suma — alive ! We have been tricked. 
But the Sun God and the fire-demons will punish this 
vile fraud.” 

And then, turning away, he made as if he would go* 

“ Seize them ! stop them ! Fairhair, Blueeyes, stop 
them! If they get away we are lost,” shouted the 
Cacique. 

The next moment I had two of them by the throat. 
Gomez collared the third, and Wildfell caught Cochitemi 
by his robe and pulled him hack into the room. 

My fellows, after a short struggle, in which they got 
a good deal the worst of it, surrendered at discretion. 
Gomez mastered the other with ease ; but the high- 
priest, who, though short, was very powerful, fought like 
a wild cat, and Wildfell had to give him a crushing blow 
with his fist before he would be quiet. 

“ What shall I do with him ? ” he asked of Ixtil. 


IXTIl/S SCHEME AND COCHITEMl's FALL. 285 


“ Throw him out of the casement ! ” 

Nothing loath, and despite his struggles, the 
American lifted Coehitemi from the floor, and, carry- 
ing him to the window, thrust aside the curtain, and 
threw him out headlong. 

“ There, Catchimalivo ! You will give no more 
trouble,” said Wildfell, grimly. “ A hundred feet, if 
it's a yard.” 

“He deserved his fate. Coehitemi brought these 
men here to murder the Lord of Light. Ixtil knows 
them ; they are all priests, and, as you see, armed. 
They expected to find me alone.” 

And then he made the trembling wretches confess 
that they had been put on to murder the Lord of Light 
by the high-priest, who suspected that Ixtil was plan- 
ning the escape of the strangers. 

a How shall we dispose of them ? ” I asked. 

“ Bind them. They shall die the death, but not yet.” 

We bound them hand and foot with their own belts. 

“ And now,” said the Cacique, “ the sooner you are 
gone the better. It was well you were here. It is well 
this has happened. Ixtil will now be master in his own 
house ; but it must not be known that Suma still lives. 
No more leave-taking. Go ! Take with you IxtiPs 
blessing and his heartfelt thanks for saving his life and 
helping him to redeem his land from the curse of human 
sacrifice. May the Sun God and the Spirit of the Stars 
light you on your homeward way and to the end of the 
great journey of life.” 


286 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE SILENT RIVER AND THE SECRET PASSACE. 

My tale is nearly told. 

At sunrise on the following morning we entered the 
Silent River. Suma, after bowing, in mute adoration, 
before the orb of day, looked with beaming eyes towards 
the Smoking Mountain, round whose rugged summit 
was wreathed a silvery cloud. 

“ A sign of peace for the Land of Light ! " she ex- 
claimed. “ The fire-demons have ceased from troubling. 
Ixtil will point to yon sun-blessed cloud and tell his 
people that the tribute demanded by the demons was not 
a maiden's life, but the death of a wicked priest, who 
personified the degrading superstition which my Fair- 
hair's devotion has helped to destroy." 

“ Say rather my Suma's self-sacrifice." 

“ True," she said sadly ; “ it is a great sacrifice to 
give up father and mother, kinsfolk, and country. But," 
brightly, “more than all these is Fair hair’s love, and 
Suma is content." 

On the third day after leaving the Phantom City we 
reached the mountain barrier, and were led by Mocoroto 
to the mouth of the underground passage. It was so 
hidden by vegetation that, without a guide, not the 


THE SILENT RIVER AND THE SECRET PASSAGE. 287 


most minute directions would have enabled us to find 
it. Here we parted company with the huntsman, and, 
lighting torches and shouldering our packs, plunged 
literally into the heart of the mountain. 

The geological formation was jurassic limestone, and 
the tunnel had evidently, in some remote age, been the 
channel of a river. One end being considerably higher 
than the other, the interior was well drained, and free 
from water ; while the difference in elevation produced 
a continual current of air, which acted as a natural 
ventilator. 

" After a tramp of three hours we came out in a 
thicket, through which we had to cut a way with our 
machetes ; but a short walk brought us to an open 
savanna, where we found a hamlet inhabited by a few 
half-breeds and Christianised Indians. They were for- 
tunately not very curious. We said that we had come 
from the east, and been compelled to leave our horses 
behind owing to the badness of the road. With this 
explanation they seemed quite satisfied, and we had no 
difficulty in obtaining food and shelter. 

On the following day we bought half-a-dozen 
horses and mules, engaged arrieros, and started for 
the coast. 

It was a long and rather arduous journey to San 
Jose de Guatemala ; but we got there at last, and sailed 
thence by steamer to Panama. At Colon we parted, 
much to our regret, with our fellow-travellers. Wild- 
fell, of course, went to the States; Gomez to Spain, 


288 


THE PHANTOM CITY. 


where he hoped, with the help of the gold given him 
by Ixtil, to make his fortune as a showman. 

On the day of our arrival at Colon I cabled to 
Dominick's bankers in London ; and, learning that my 
friend was still in Europe, I decided to proceed thither 
at once, and engaged berths by the first Royal Mail 
steamer bound for Southampton ; which we reached in 
due course, and were met by Dominick, fully restored to 
health, and eager for an account of my adventures. 

Where we are now it is not necessary to say. Yet 
the kind reader who has accompanied me thus far may 
be pleased to know that the idea of revisiting the Land 
of Light has more than once crossed my mind. But I 
have given hostages to fortune ; the journey is long and 
not free from danger, and I am by no means sure that 
I should be able to find the underground passage. It is 
quite possible, moreover, that a Pharaoh may have arisen 
who knows not J oseph, and that I might not be allowed 
to return. For these reasons, and, above all, because my 
dear Suma, who has ties which keep her at home, says 
I must wander no more, I have decided to leave the 
further exploration of Central America to travellers who 
are as free from responsibilities as I was when I under- 
took the discovery of the Phantom City. 

THE END. 


Press op Hunter & Beach, 31 West 13th Street, N. Y. 



















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